Ruki's Choice
by x-eleven
Summary: Ruki Makino and her partner, Renamon, had a rough go during the early episodes of Digimon Tamers . It was Tamers #10 - the "Icedevimon" episode, where her future hung in the balance. She had a clear choice: accept Icedevimon's offer of partnership, and everything that implied. Or choose Renamon's friendship. How would everything turn out had she chosen differently?
1. Ruki's Choice

**1) Ruki's Choice**

_Hypnos Headquarters_

"I've never seen anything like this before", one of Chief Yamaki's top operators, Riley, was explaining: "this Wild One: it's not just trying to materialize itself, but apparently its whole environment"

"Is that possible?", Yamaki asked, as he habitually clicked his ever present Zippo open and closed.

The answer came with the destruction of the Tracer that was pursuing the Wild One, and the breaking of any connection to the Digital World.

"We lost it", Riley explained. "No idea as to where - if - it materialized".

"Try to find out as much about it as you can", Yamaki requested.

Mitsou Yamaki, the Chief of Hypnos, thought he didn't need this. It was bad enough, these Wild Ones, only now, they were learning. First, it was that Devidramon. It had materialized, and it was only happenstance that he'd learned about it when Devidramon flew past the windows of his upper level office, and that the one called "Guilmon", the one that was accompanied by that school boy, fought and destroyed it. Of all places, the headquarters of Hypnos itself, and he and his staff knew _nothing_ of it.

Fortunately, this had occurred late at night, with few witnesses. Yamaki was able to scrub the 'Net of any information about this incursion and attack. He told his crew the purpose of this was to keep the public at large in the dark to prevent panic. The real reason was to cover his ass. It was bad enough Hypnos was proving itself ineffective to prevent the incursions of Wild Ones. It would be even worse if his so-called superiors knew Hypnos was losing the ability to detect their incursions.

These digimon had not only discovered countermeasures of the Yuggoth program he'd written for the purpose of warning them off, or to destroy them as they materialized if they didn't take the hint they were not welcome or wanted. Now, they were concealing the detection of their materializations, _and_ they were now materializing their Digital World environments. Yamaki figured that nothing good could come from any of these new developments.

Mitsou Yamaki was not going to follow his predecessor, Capt. Satsuma Rentaro, in the ignominy of failure. The forerunner of Hypnos, DATS, had failed, and failed _spectacularly_, in its mission to keep the public at large from knowing that the Digital World even existed, let alone that the creatures it had spawned, the digimon, were invading the Material World once again.

It had also confirmed his worst suspicion: kids were treating the damn things as pets.

_East Shinjuku_

The young red-haired girl in long jeans, sneakers, and a colorful T-shirt with a broken heart emblazoned on the front was walking down the street, ever present MP3 player in place. She wasn't paying any attention to what was playing, as she was too lost in thought over what she'd witnessed the day before.

"I don't understand it", she thought to herself, "Guilmon evolved. He had not been in a single digibattle, hadn't loaded so much as a byte, and he _evolved_. That friend of his, that Henry, his little dog/bunny also evolved. Even though he said he didn't want Terriermon evolving at all".

The more she thought about it, the fouler her mood became.

Ruki was suddenly distracted, as though she was being followed. She suddenly whirled around, but saw nothing but normal street activity. There wasn't anyone even near her. But she thought... she was _certain_ someone would be there. It was just her imagination, she told herself.

The next day, Ruki was walking down the street, this time with an unwanted admirer following. It was Calumon, ever cheerful, but Ruki was in no mood for cheerful. She looked back and glared at the little white "digimon". His already wide smile brightened: "Culu?"

"Will you stop following me?", she asked, none too friendly.

With that, Calumon leaped into her arms, and began to hug her.

"What do you think..."

"Ruki!", called out a familiar voice, and one she did not want to hear: that of her mother, Rumiko.

"What?", Ruki asked flatly.

"What?", her mother repeated. "Today'sphotoshootwasactullyscheduledfortomorrow", she began to explain. "IguessIforgottomakeanoteofthechangeinmypersonalor ganizer". This was typical, Ruki thought, always thinking of herself, never letting anyone get in a word edgewise. Ruki had no idea as to what her mother wanted, as she began to back away.

"I... I... was on my way to see a friend", she said, hoping to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Hey, Ruki, I didn't know you were interested in that sort of thing?", her mother finally noticed as she pointed at Calumon.

"What are you doing?", she asked the bundle of white fluff she still carried. Calumon simply smiled back at her. Ruki got lucky, and melted into the crowd that was gathering, as the people passing on the street noticed that the woman on the sidewalk was the same fashion model whose pictures graced the windows of the department store outside of which Ruki had been accosted. She never learned what her mother wanted, but was certain it wasn't anything she actually wanted to do.

"Don't you _ever_ follow me!", Ruki roughly reprimanded Calumon as soon as they'd arrived in Ruki's back yard.

"Pika, pika, pika", he said, as he walked off, finally realizing he was not wanted.

"Do you understand me?", she called after him.

"What did I ever do to her?", Calumon asked himself. "The others, Takato and Henry, always seem so friendly. Their partners like to play as much as I do".

That feeling returned: that sudden chill, that sensation of being watched. Like yesterday, but this time, more intense. What was even worse, was she was standing in her own back yard.

"Renamon?", she called out almost on reflex.

The anthrovixen appeared at once: "Yes, Ruki", she greeted.

"Where were you just now?"

"I was on the roof of that building", Renamon explained, as she pointed to an apartment tower not too far away.

"I see..."

"Is something wrong?", Renamon asked, concerned. "You're not looking well", she observed.

"It's nothing", Ruki dismissed, as she walked off. Renamon looked all around the backyard, looking for anything out of the ordinary, seeing nothing out of place. Nothing that looked as though it might pose a threat to the well being of the one she swore to protect: Ruki Makino, her Tamer and partner.

"So we meet again?"

This time it was Impmon: "Oh, it's you", Renamon replied. Perhaps Impmon was up to something? Did he do something that scared Ruki?

They'd met a short while ago, when Impmon had introduced himself. It was during another one of Renamon's sessions of introspection, prompted by another discussion with her Tamer over her inability to evolve. This time, the occasion had been the defeat of Allomon, a tough opponent indeed. Had it not been for the intervention of Guilmon and Terriermon, it's quite likely that Renamon would have been defeated and destroyed. Far from being grateful for the help, Ruki had reprimanded them for interfering. Impmon had seen the whole thing, unnoticed, from his vantage point at the top of a utility pole.

So far, Renamon wasn't very impressed with the fast talking Rookie. She knew little more than that Impmon didn't approve of human/digimon partnership, and that he considered such digimon as being subservient. That such a strong digimon should be dependent on a little girl disgraceful. He also implied he knew how to become stronger without a partner. It had done her no good trying to set him straight. She asked for no further details. She had a partner she cared about, and that was that.

"What's that supposed to mean?", he asked as Renamon turned and walked off.

"What! You're ignoring me?", Impmon called back. Then he thought of something.

"I came to deliver a message from Terriermon. He says he wants a battle".

"Heh", she dismissed.

"'Heh?' Whaddaya mean 'heh'?"

"Terriermon wouldn't challenge anyone to a battle. His Tamer has forbidden it". Renamon kept on walking away.

Too bad he got caught in a lie, that was no way to start a relationship: "So I was right all along, he isn't a digimon anymore, he's just a talking pet", Impmon said to himself. "I guess I'll just have to beat some sense into him". All was not lost completely.

Ruki's mother was waiting for her when she went inside.

"So cute!", she exclaimed, "how about this dress?", she asked. She held up the new outfit she'd purchased for her daughter yesterday.

"I wouldn't be caught _dead _in that monstrosity!", Ruki declared with finality. This dress was pink and yellow, decorated with teddy bears, and lots of lacy frills. How anyone who made a living as a fashion model could have such hideous taste in kids' clothes escaped her completely. "How many times do I have to tell you I hate dresses!"

"Ruki, what about that cute toy you had yesterday?"

"That was... ummmm...", she had to think quick. "A promotion of some sort. They were giving them away, and this weird guy just shoved the thing into my hands, besides, I already threw it away".

"Oh...".

"Ruki has her own sense of style", Sieko Hata, Ruki's grandmother, explained. "You can't expect to change that overnight. How about yourself? You didn't, did you?"

"I wish she'd at least try to be a little more feminine, at least occasionally".

"You worry too much", Seiko said, "being a tom-boy is something she'll outgrow in her own good time". (And your taste in kids' clothes could stand considerable improvement, she thought to herself.) If there was a more hideous, less practical, dress for an active ten year old girl, she'd yet to see it. Ruki's grandmother understood.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Impmon had been waiting for this, as he concealed himself from view in a tree. He dropped down, catching a low hanging branch with the talons of his feet. Hanging upside down he issued his challenge:

"Oh little Terriermon!", he called out with a sarcastic, sing-song voice.

Terriermon looked back.

"Don't you even think about it. Just ignore him", Henry told him.

"Guilmon", Takato called out, and the crimson dinosaur came. The three of them headed for the exit of the park.

"Hey assholes!", Impmon called after them. "If I bother you so much, then why don't you fight me?"

"Terriermon!", Henry reprimanded as soon as he saw his partner begin to turn to look back.

"Renamon was right", he thought to himself. "He _really_ won't fight".

"Take that!", he said as he threw a fireball at Terriermon.

"Petit Twister!", Terriermon retaliated. Impmon watched, surprised, as Terriermon's attack broke up and dispersed his fireball, totally ineffective. Terriermon hit him, sent him flying, before returning to Henry.

"What did I tell you about fighting?", he asked.

"I'd hardly call that a fight", Terriermon retorted.

"Sometimes you're incorrigible", Henry said, as he gave him a noogie.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Ruki was headed down the breeze way behind the house, towards her bedroom door, when it happened again. This time, the feeling of cold so intense she thought she saw her breathe actually condense. The feeling of being watched worse than ever. As she whirled around, she thought, just for the briefest instant, she caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure.

She ran to her bedroom, closed the door, breathing heavily as she tried composting herself.

"Renamon!", she called out.

Ever composed, the yellow anthrovixen appeared.

"Check the back yard", Ruki ordered.

"The back yard?" Renamon scanned the whole back yard, and the breeze way.

"There's something out there, isn't there?", Ruki asked anxiously.

"No...", Renamon started.

"You're lying!", Ruki suddenly, and unexpectedly, accused.

Renamon stood there, perplexed. She had never lied to her partner about anything, and she never would. It went against everything she believed as a digimon warrior.

"What's with that look?", Ruki demanded. Renamon wasn't as successful concealing her feelings as she'd hoped.

"Ruki", she began to explain, "Whatever is going on, know that I will always protect you".

"Protect me?!", Ruki demanded with an angry tone. Renamon could not understand why. "Just who the _hell_ do you think you are?!"

"I'm your partner..."

"My 'partner'? How can you be my partner? You're nothing more than a digimon!"

Any pretense of hiding emotions was gone at hearing this. The words could not have cut deeper even if Ruki had launched her own Koyousetsu attack at her.

"You don't need to follow me", Ruki added as she turned and exited the bedroom, leaving Renamon standing there, alone, as she tried to understand what had just happened here.

The Sun hung low in the western sky, a large orange ball. Renamon was sitting on a rooftop, her favorite place to sit and think, unobserved and undisturbed.

"How can I understand a human partner?", she asked herself. "I know it was just a relationship of convenience, that's how it started out. I wanted to become stronger, and Ruki wanted to be the strongest Tamer. It's just that... I thought there was more. How Henry and Terriermon get along: maybe I should try being more human? That's not right either... I'm more anthroform than Terriermon, and that doesn't make any difference to Henry. I'm more anthroform than Guilmon, and look at how Takato and he get along? What am I missing here?

What of that time when Dokugomon attacked us? I asked her to run away, to save herself to give what I was certain was my death meaning. But she didn't, she stood by me. That was the first time I evolved, and I thought she was beginning to understand partnership. Why is she being this way? How am I inadequate as a partner?"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Ruki was on her way out of the subway station when it happened again. This time, the cold was undeniable, so much so she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, as her breathe actually condensed, and she shivered.

"What the FUCK do you want?!", she demanded.

The two balding, middle aged, businessmen looked, first at this strange girl to whom they'd done nothing, then at each other, wondering what this was all about.

"Get out of my way!", Ruki demanded, as she shoved herself between them. "You! Hold up!", she demanded. The two men followed her with their eyes, seeing nothing, as she disappeared up the stairs leading to the street.

They wordlessly exchanged a glance and a shrug before going their separate ways.

Ruki paused on the last landing. The last of the Sun sent a shaft of light down the final flight of stairs, as Ruki caught her breathe.

"Show yourself!", she demanded of the apparently deserted landing. This time, she was certain she'd seen the strange apparition that had been harassing her. She looked around, as the cold returned once again.

Had anyone been watching, they would have seen two very large hands wearing armoured gauntlets extend from the wall, wrap around the girl, and pull her into the wall from a cloud of fog-like mist. There were no witnesses.

Ruki found herself standing unsteadily on a floor of ice. The cold was unbearable, as she was not dressed for this. It was like being in a deep freeze, as her teeth chattered. She looked around, but saw very little, as there was barely enough light to see anything.

"So cold", she announced the obvious to herself.

From behind her, silently, a tall anthroform figure rose from the floor. The tall, slender figure wrapped white, leathery wings around Ruki, startling her.

"You like the cold", the figure announced.

"You are a digimon?", she asked, as she looked up at the figure.

"Yes, I am", he confirmed.

"This is a digital field?", she asked.

"Correct", he agreed once again. He was pleased to see he hadn't underestimated her intelligence. "Isn't it a great place?", he asked. "Suits you perfectly, Ruki".

Ruki should have been more afraid than she found herself to be. Whoever this was, she found him less threatening than she should have. How did he know her name? Why, in his embrace, did she no longer feel the cold that moments ago was very uncomfortable?

"The perfect place?", she asked more herself than her companion.

"You don't like it: wondering if you have a partnership or a friendship, do you?"

"Yeah", she agreed.

"You treat others coldly because you want to be as cold yourself, right?"

"Uhhhh", she grunted out an agreement.

"I know you as well as anyone could, Ruki...", he said. He paused for dramatic effect: "...because _I_ am your partner".

"Partner?", she asked.

"Yes, your partner".

"Partner?", she asked again. "Uhhh... I guess you mean Renamon?"

The Sun had set, and Renamon was sitting on the roof of Ruki's house, waiting for her return. She leaped up, sensing something: "Ruki, where are you?", she asked the last of the twilight. Then she remembered the horrible things Ruki had said to her. She hesitated. Let her take care of herself. Renamon was just following orders, she reasoned.

Ruki reached for her digivice, more out of habit than anything else.

"Renamon", she said again, as the figure's hand gently clasped her own.

"I am your partner", he insisted.

"Partner?", Ruki asked again.

"Yes, I know you always wanted a strong digimon so you could be the strongest Tamer. It is I who am that strong digimon you always wanted, and I am the partner you deserve".

Ruki said nothing.

"Behold: my power", he announced. With the wave of a wing, lights came on, illuminating the space. Dozens of figures were encased in thick ice. They all seemed to be Rookie digimon. She recognized some: Gotsumon, Electmon, a Gomamon. Others, she wasn't familiar with right off hand.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"This way, culu?", Calumon urged Takato, Henry, Guilmon and Terriermon onwards. "I think Ruki's in trouble, culu?", he announced. They had no choice but to take his word for it. Even though they had just met him, and knew little about him, and he seemed to be very evasive and about his past, and his present plans, they had never known him to raise false alarms. That's when they saw it: a digital field surrounding the top of a building nearing completion.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"I fought and survived", the unfamiliar digimon was explaining to Ruki, "only the strongest survive here. Icy death awaits all who prove unworthy".

"Then these are..."

"All the digimon I've defeated"

"That's... horrible", Ruki said.

"It's not horrible", the figure explained. "It's for strength, and for evolution. It is the same thing you've been doing all along Ruki".

"This... is what evolution means? I've ordered Renamon to do this... Disgusting"

"Are you trying to convince me... or are you trying to convince yourself?"

She struggled free: "Stop calling me 'Ruki' like you know me!", she demanded. "How could you possibly understand how I feel?"

"I thought you were being too easy", the figure explained. "No matter, I like it better this way. To earn you as my Tamer. I can't think of anyone more suitable than you".

"Go look for someone else!", she demanded.

"I just want to get stronger", he said again. "And you want to be the strongest Tamer, isn't that right?"

"No..."

"Are you really that concerned for that digimon, Renamon?"

Ruki reached for her digivice, but held back.

"Why don't you call her? You don't need two partners. Call Renamon, and I'll arrange a battle. Winner partners with you. Fair enough? That way, you'll see who's the strongest digimon, and the most worthy partner for you".

Ruki stood there, doing nothing.

"You still aren't calling her? You don't want to see how easily I defeat and destroy that Renamon? No matter, I'll call her myself".

With that, the figure placed a long, thin index finger to his forehead, and projected a blue, laser-like, beam upwards, out of the ice dome he'd created, and into the night. It created an aurora-like effect in the sky. The other Tamers saw this, as they approached the building. The only way up was to take the stairs, as there was no power, and no elevators.

"Digital field?", Takato asked.

"I don't know what else", Henry said, "we're goin' in", as he pulled on his sunglasses, and Takato pulled his goggles over his eyes. They opened the door leading onto the roof.

"What is this place?", Henry asked.

"Over there!", Takato announced.

Henry read off the ID:

_Icedevimon_

_Fallen angel digimon_

_Champion_

"What are you doing with Ruki?!", Takato demanded

"Heh, the small fry have finally decided to put in an appearance", Icedevimon dismissed the new arrivals.

Guilmon began to growl: "Hold up", Henry said. "It looks like they're discussing something". Ruki didn't look to be in any distress.

"Ruki is my Tamer", the fallen angel announced.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about, you frozen freak?! Ruki is _Renamon's_ Tamer, not yours!", Takato challenged. "Ruki, tell him!"

She said nothing.

"Henry?", Takato asked.

"He must be unusually powerful", Henry explained. "Look at the influence he has over his surroundings. We got no alert from our digivices. Not only that, but neither Terriermon nor Guilmon detected his materialization".

"That's right", Guilmon agreed. "I always thought I'd know whenever a digimon crossed over".

"What do we do?", Terriermon asked.

"You should never have had anything to do with them", Icedevimon explained. "They're a bad influence, and you should become as you were when your heart was as cold as this place".

He didn't need an answer, as Renamon broke through Icedevimon's ice dome.

"Renamon?", Ruki asked.

"So you show up at last, eh?", Icedevimon asked. "I'll destroy her and then we can start over, like it should have been from the beginning"

"Koyousetsu!", she tried to attack, but wasn't quite fast enough.

"Frost Claw!", Icedevimon struck first, knocking Renamon off her feet.

She leaped up: "Koyou..."

"Frost Claw!", he struck again.

Renamon sank to her knees, then dropped onto her left side.

"She'll be defeated if she doesn't evolve!", Takato called out. He expected Ruki to do something, anything, but she just stood there, watching, as if it meant nothing to her.

Ruki remembered. Just two days ago, she'd seen Guilmon digivolve to Growlmon - a digimon who'd never fought a single digibattle; who had not loaded even so much as a single byte from any opponent. Guilmon: whose Tamer was a whiny little chicken shit who begged and pleaded like a little girl when challenged to a digibattle. Despite having an inadequate Tamer who couldn't even use the cards correctly, despite that, Growlmon had defeated Devidramon.

There was Terriermon, the pathetic and ridiculous little dog/bunny who'd evolved into Galgomon. Despite that his Tamer was a sentimental fool who actually thought digimon should be spared from fighting. A pathetic pacifist who uncharacteristically was studying Kung Fu for no good reason she could see.

And what of Renamon? She had loaded one opponent after another, and refused to evolve. Ruki remembered all the excuses: "It's not time", "The time isn't right", "I haven't loaded enough opponents", "I don't know". There was that time she ordered Renamon to defeat and load Guilmon - a Rookie with an inexperienced Tamer whose power rivaled that of a Champion. Yet Renamon didn't even try. Of that, she was certain. How else could she miss every time with the Fox, Leaf, Arrowheads unless it were deliberate? Even when given the Heavy Metal impact hammer that could have cracked Guilmon's skull like a walnut, Renamon had missed at point blank range. That was just before Henry came along to rescue Takato. Like he was Takato's babysitter or something.

There was that time in the underground garage, when that Henry interfered once again, on behalf of chicken shit Takato. Terriermon had evolved to Galgomon after he'd accidentally stepped in front of Renamon's attack meant for Guilmon after it was beyond recall. Then there was the fight with Galgomon. Renamon was _winning_, and could have loaded a full Champion. Once again, she refused. As Galgomon advanced on her, intent on blowing her head off, it was Guilmon - not Renamon - who had come to her defense.

"Why are you looking at me like that?", Icedevimon challenged. "Why? Because of her? What is this weak digimon to you?", he asked.

"You wouldn't...", Takato called out.

"Ruki, you _can't_...", Henry added.

Renamon was struggling to get up. Ruki looked, first at Renamon, then to Icedevimon.

"Nothing", she replied.


	2. The Betrayal

**2) The Betrayal**

"Then it's decided", Icedevimon announced. "I am your partner, and you are my Tamer".

Ruki's digivice glowed, encased in a white light, though it was still hooked to her belt. The color scheme changed to icy white with a silver ring around the LCD screen.

"How could you?", Henry called after her.

"Shall we get better acquainted?", Icedevimon asked, as Ruki slipped her hand into his. As they walked off, the digital field dissipated, then disappeared, leaving them on the still to be constructed floor.

Renamon got up, saying nothing.

"Renamon?", Takato asked.

"What're you doing?", Henry asked, as she climbed the chain link fence surrounding the construction site. He could only watch as the anthrovixen leaped into the night, disappearing from sight. "Renamon?"

"That little bitch!", Takato declared. "I knew she was no damn good from the get-go!"

Henry sadly shook his head. "I'm inclined to agree with you... I hoped she was coming around, I mean, after Dokugomon, that she was beginning to understand that digimon aren't just objects for her own personal amusement".

"What do we do now?", Takato cast a worried glance at Guilmon. "With Icedevimon...", he looked back to Henry. "If they attack Guilmon, or Terriermon, what will we do?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping that now, she might at least be content to not attack Guilmon. After all, she wanted Renamon to be able to digivolve. Still, I'd keep an eye out for her. Avoid her the best you can".

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out. "Now that I can evolve, I'll protect us. I'm sure Growlmon will do the same".

"I was hoping to avoid that", Henry pointed out.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Renamon didn't care where she landed. Some rooftop, some place she felt safe. She dropped to her knees and wept.

"How could she do that to me?", she asked the night. The tears poured and the sobs shook her entire frame. It was as if the entire Material World had come crashing down on her, threatening to disencorporate her into shards of data. She couldn't be that fortunate.

She wasn't unnoticed. Inside, below her, eighteen year old Koichi Lonnegan heard. "What the fuck?", he asked himself, as he slid open the window of the gable and stepped onto the slanting roof. He headed towards the sound.

Some crazy broad was crouched at the edge of the roof. "How in the hell did she get up here?", he asked himself. In the rising moonlight, details began to stand out. Yellow... fur? Long, bushy, fox-like... tail? His heart quickened, as he began to feel as though he'd hit the lottery. More than once. Could it be? Did they _really_ exist, after all? Here: in the Land of the Rising Sun and sci-fi monsters?

Koichi was almost beside her by the time Renamon knew she wasn't alone. She looked up, then jumped up. The look in those sapphire eyes spoke of immense pain. Koichi said nothing, simply holding the strange figure in a hug. Renamon should have fought; at the least, she should have disappeared. However, it felt so good, having a warm body next to hers, she did none of these things. She wept on his shoulder until he felt her strength begin to fail her. He didn't let her fall, instead, taking her under the knees and arms, and carried her back to his bedroom in the loft.

Koichi laid her on his bed, then settled into a chair, pulled up an ottoman. Oh well, he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight...

The sunlight awakened Renamon. Had it all been some horrible nightmare? Upon opening her eyes, she knew it was not. She found herself in some unfamiliar place. A boy's bedroom from the look of it, but much neater than she figured, from what she could gather about boys.

"So, you're awake?".

Renamon started, but realized there was no threat here.

"Where am I?", she asked.

"My bedroom...", he answered in English, a language she didn't understand.

"I don't..."

He switched to passable Japanese: "I said, you're in my bedroom. I guess you had a rough night? You sort of passed out, and I couldn't leave you stuck on the roof all night long... If you don't want to talk about it, I'll understand... It's just that I didn't know...", he wondered how to put it, and decided the straight forward approach was best. He could apologize later. "I didn't know Furries were for real", he said. "By the way, I'm Koichi. Koichi Lonnegan".

Renamon had never heard that term before: "I am a digimon, a renamon, to be precise".

"What's a 'digimon'?" - a term he had not heard yet.

"We come from the Digital World - a world of form without substance that consists of pure data. That's how we all lived up until we discovered we could enter the Material World as physical beings...".

Renamon explained everything: about the slow deterioration of the Digital World that was sending more and more digimon as refugees into the Material World, that for some reason digimon had lost the ability to digivolve in the Digital World. They could evolve here in the Material World, but only with the help of humans she called "Tamers" who had special devices, called "digivices" that allowed them to evolve their partner digimon.

Not all digimon came with good intentions. Some were feral, who acted like wild animals and didn't know any better. Some came as trouble-makers who made life difficult for those who came only to seek a better life, or to escape the destruction, or who didn't trust the rulers of the Digital World: the Holy Beasts.

Koichi explained about Furries: anthropomorphic animal people who could talk and think as humans with human-level intelligence. Renamon explained that description fit a good many digimon, but not all of them.

"What say we get on downstairs for breakfast?", Koichi invited.

"You aren't going to hide me?", Renamon asked, genuinely surprised.

"Surely you didn't think I would make you live up here? The folks'll be surprised, but trust me on this: they'll get used to you, especially Gran. C'mon, you'll see", he said as he took her paw in his hand. "There's nothing to be afraid of", he reassured.

"Dad, Gran...", he announced.

"What the HELL have you done this time?!", his father challenged. He figured his son had suborned one of the neighborhood kids into dressing up in an animal costume. This Furry obsession was one thing, but going this far...

"It's not what you think", Koichi told him.

His father looked closer. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, it was all too obvious this was no fursuit. Not even the professional one Koichi wanted to spend $2,500 on back home could look that realistic.

"What kind of thing _are_ you?", he finally asked.

"I am a digimon", Renamon explained again. "We come..."

"That can wait", Koichi's grandmother interrupted, "I'm serving... I'll set another place", she said.

They expected her to join them? Renamon sat uneasily at the kitchen table. The grandmother (her name was Victoria, she would later learn) set before her a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, two slices of toast and butter, and a tumbler full of orange juice.

Renamon just sat there.

"What were you expecting?", Koichi joked, "we'd make you eat on the back porch?".

The look on Renamon's face told him that that was precisely what she was expecting.

"If it isn't to your liking, or doesn't agree with you, I'll make whatever you like", Victoria offered.

"That won't be necessary", Renamon said. "Thank you for the meal".

After breakfast, Renamon told them all about what happened.

"And then...", she swallowed hard, "and then..."

"Renamon, if you have to let it out, just let it out", Victoria said.

"I wasn't allowed to show emotion... Ruki expected me to be a digimon warrior", she explained.

"Warriors have feelings, too, yannow", Koichi told her. "The more I learn of this Ruki Makino, the less I like. It's too bad about the divorce; someone needs to strip her naked and belt whip her bare ass until she can't sit down for a week", he said.

Renamon was again crying on Koichi's shoulder: "Let it out, just let it out". Now he understood.

"Spit swear", Koichi announced, once Renamon had regained her composure. Renamon didn't know what that was. Koichi spat a lot of saliva into the palm of his hand. Renamon imitated what she'd seen him do. He offered his hand, and she took it:

"I swear that I will _never_ betray you, not _now_, not _ever_, not for _any_ reason".

He saw something out of the corner of his eye, he looked up. Near the ceiling was a small ball of white light. It began slowly descending, dropping into his hand. It suddenly burst apart, leaving behind something... it was white with dark blue trim, and a clip-on lanyard.

"What..."

"A digivice", Renamon explained. "We are partners; you are my Tamer".

"As your Tamer, there's just one rule you need to follow without fail", he told her.

"Wh... what would that be?", she asked, anxiously.

"Just be yourself... Uhhhh... What does a digivice do?", he asked.

"It allows you to identify any strange digimon you might happen to meet; it will alert you if there's a near-by incursion. It has a direction finder, in case we're separated. It also works with the game cards to add new powers temporarily... I've lost you, haven't I?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so".

"There are some people I think you should meet".


	3. A Tamer is Born

**3) A Tamer is Born**

Takato, Kenta, and Kazu were at the dinosaur shaped shelter, playing the card game as they usually did whenever they could find the free time. Kenta was watching, as Takato and Kazu were going at it.

Takato laid down a card: "High Speed Plug-In B: Double Speed", he announced. He laid another card on top: "White Wings: Ariel Attack! I win!"

"Ohhhhh!", Kazu said. "What was that?"

"An awesome combo!", Kenta explicated. "I wasn't expecting _that_!", he congratulated. It was a rare occasion for Takato to best Kazu, who was the best player, second only to the Digimon Queen herself: Ruki Makino.

"What can I say?", Takato explained. "Winning real battles, I can't lose at cards, can I?"

He quickly began gathering his cards and layout, having realized what he'd just said.

"You're leaving already?", Kazu said. "I demand a rematch. Rematch!"

"What did you mean, 'real battles'?", Kenta asked.

"Ahhhhh... did I say that?", Takato tried his best to fake innocence, "you must be imagining things".

"No, _I_ heard you too", Kazu replied. "What do you mean by 'real battles'?"

"I gotta run", Takato said as he jumped from the shelter. "Dammit!", he thought to himself, "that was a close call... _way_ too close". Hopefully, they'd forget what he'd said.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_West Shinjuku: By the railroad overpass_

"Why did you insist on coming, if you're so bored?", Henry asked Terriermon, who was perched on his Tamer's head, impersonating a plushie as he usually did in public.

"If I stay home, shit happens", Terriermon explained. He thought of the price he paid for pretending to be a doll: the little girl games Henry's younger sister, and the youngest member of the family, played with him.

They were crossing a pedestrian bridge over the busy parkway when they saw it: a bank of "fog" that began appearing over the railway overpass.

_Hypnos HQ_

"Chief, we're too late", Riley was explaining. "It's begun to materialize".

"Launch Yuggoths!", he ordered.

"If we do that, it could affect the Material World", Tally objected.

"Stop the damn thing, _then_ we'll worry about fixing the Material World"

She had no choice but to do as he said. She launched the Yuggoths...

"That's...", Henry began.

"...A digital field", Terriermon completed that thought, as he jumped to the hand rail, and began running off. Henry gave chase, caught him by one of his long ears.

"Henry!", Terriermon exclaimed.

"Terriermon, we're going home..."

"If that digimon breaks through, who knows what damage it might do?"

"It's none of our business".

Terriermon pulled free, only to be pulled back: "Stop it now, before someone sees!", Henry commanded.

As they watched, the "fog" cleared as quickly, and as mysteriously, as it had appeared.

"A digital field, but no digimon?", Henry asked. He'd never seen a materialization "abort" like this one undeniably did. At least its disappearance meant he wouldn't have to struggle with Terriermon.

"Henry, why did you stop me?", Terriermon asked.

"I don't want you to fight".

"How come?"

"It's true video game digimon were created for fighting...", he began.

"It doesn't have to be that way in the Material World", Terriermon completed the thought.

"If you knew the answer, then why did you ask?"

Terriermon jumped to the ground: "You once said my appearance in your world wasn't normal. Do you find me to be an annoyance? Would you like me to disappear like Renamon did?"

"How could you even think such a thing?"

"Then why? Don't we have a duty to protect people from dangerous digimon?"

"You don't know that digimon would have been dangerous, besides, there are authorities who have that responsibility. We need to mind our own business; let them take care of it".

Henry picked Terriermon up, and they continued towards their home. "But I'm still a digimon", Terriermon thought to himself. "I can't deny what I am".

_Hypnos HQ_

"How _dare_ you", came an announcement over the PA. "I shall avenge myself on you!", it threatened. Somehow, that digimon had hacked into Hypnos itself.

Yamaki wasn't expecting that. "Artificial life that tried to become physical, and now it's just data drifting around the 'Net", he thought to himself.

_Shinjuku Central Park_

It wasn't until the weekend before Koichi and Renamon could finally meet the others she'd told him about. As they approached the concrete shed that had become Guilmon's Material World home...

"Renamon!", Takato called out, "we were so worried about you! You're all right?"

"I'm glad to see you again", Henry explained, "I wasn't sure if you'd go back to the Digital World, or do something...", he couldn't make himself complete that thought.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out.

"I'm happy to see you again", Guilmon said.

"Culu?", Calumon called out.

"Who's the old dude?", Takato asked.

"I have a new Tamer", Renamon explained. "Koichi Lonnegan is his name".

"And you're just kids", Koichi replied. "How the hell old are you anyway?"

"We're in the fifth grade", Henry explained. "We can't explain it either".

"No matter, I still need your help", Koichi explained, "I have the digivice, but it didn't come with a manual".

"C'mon in", Takato invited, as he led the way into Guilmon's shed.

"Yes, I have an odd name", Koichi was introducing himself. "My father is Irish-American, and he was stationed at the Navy base in Okinawa. It was there he met my mother, Yuka Hiroshi, who was a civilian employee. They dated, and fell in love. Father had to jump through all sorts of bureaucratic hoops, but he did it. They were married, and he brought his new bride home to America.

Five years later, I came along, then Sis. As for naming us kids, they decided on a compromise. Irish last name, and Japanese first name".

"Similar to my situation", Henry explained, "except my dad's Chinese - from Hong Kong. So your mom didn't come?"

"She... died", Koichi began. "Two years ago... a drunk driver. They say she never knew what hit her..."

"I'm sorry", Henry said.

"That's so sad", Guilmon agreed.

"I had no idea", Terriermon said.

"Culu?", Calumon understood, being an empath, he felt the same as Koichi.

"So sorry for your loss", Takato said. He knew that neither he nor Henry could understand the loss of a parent.

"Anyway, Father and Gran came, you know, to show me the land mom called home. I'll be attending university here, though Gran will be going back since she came to help us get settled here in Tokyo".

"You're among friends now", Henry was saying. "You'll see: Renamon will be the best friend you ever had. I tried explaining that to Ruki, but she just would not, or could not, see it... In a way, I feel sorry for her".

"Yeah", Takato agreed. "Guilmon's my best friend, as well as my partner".

"Takato would never betray me", Guilmon agreed.

"I swore I would never betray Renamon", Koichi confirmed. "And I never will. I'd die first..."

"I will protect your life even if it costs mine", Renamon told him. "Not on my watch, Koichi, not on my watch".

"What about the cards and digivices?", Koichi asked.

"Oh yeah", Takato said, remembering why they were there in the first place. He pulled one from a pocket, and passed it to Koichi. He turned it over and over, noticing one side had a logo that looked like a stylized '2', and a slogan: "Battle and Evolution". The reverse side had a magnetic strip, like a credit card, and a picture of a digimon, with a description and point value.

"This looks like..."

"It is, and you can buy them in almost any store that deals with video and other games", Henry explained.

"It was supposed to be just a game", Takato explicated. "My friends, Kenta and Kazu and I, play all the time. Only now, it turned out that it isn't just a game. It's for real. Yeah, I was a little bored with the game, and thought I'd add something different. I set out to design a new character. He'd be like Augomon because he was always my favorite, but better, with more powerful attacks. Oh, and he'd be a Virus type, but a good Virus, as there aren't very many who are. That would add to the uniqueness... then there was that day.

It was weird, lots of wind, clouds swirling in the sky like I'd never seen before, lots of static electricity in the air, but it never rained. Then, this Blue Card turned my score keeper into a digivice. I scanned all the notes and drawings I'd made, and a couple of days later, my character came to life..."

"That would be me", Guilmon added.

"Yeah, I had a real, live digimon. I never figured... it could really happen".

"Blue Card?", Koichi asked.

"That's how it happened for me as well", Henry explained. "My dad got me the new, deluxe version of the Digital Monsters video game. I connected it to my computer, and went through the character selections until I chose Terriermon. I played all the time, until I got the idea that these game characters had lives of their own. Of course, that was silly. They're just programs, or so I told myself, and Father agreed. You can't really hurt them, or can you?

I felt so bad, seeing Terriermon hurt like that. I was gonna lose him, but then this Blue Card appeared, and I ran it through the game's card reader. Just like that, the card reader turned into a digivice, and the Terriermon on the screen faded out, while a very real Terriermon appeared in my lap. I apologized for all the digimon I hurt, but he forgave me. We've been together ever since".

"It's just that I never found that Blue Card again", Takato added.

"You can use them just the one time", Henry explained.

"I don't know about that", Koichi said. "My digivice just materialized out of thin air. It just appeared. No Blue Cards, or any other kind of cards. I still don't quite understand the purpose of that".

"We'll do our best to explain", Takato said. "The first thing you should do is get yourself a collection of cards. Then show us what you have".

"How do you mean?"

"You don't get all the cards in the same set", Henry explained. "Trading cards is as much a part of the game as actually playing. Just watch out for Kazu Shioda, he's a ruthless card trader".

Takato took out one of his cards to explain.

"For our purpose, ignore the point count. That applies only if you're playing Battle Cards. Of course, if you'd like to play, we can do that too. This particular card is a "High Speed Plug-In B" card. What that means is it gives your digimon the ability to move twice as fast as normally. You might want to use it in order to allow Renamon to escape, or to attack an unusually fast digimon against whom she wouldn't otherwise score a hit. There are other cards with different attributes. Like the 'Devil Chip' card: this one enhances normal attacks, making them more devastating..."

"How long do the effects last?"

"That's just it: once, maybe twice, but no longer than that"

"I see...", Koichi said. "Then it's important to get the timing right".

"Yes, it is. There are other cards, character cards", Takato took out another one.

"Kyukimon", Koichi read the back of the card.

"If you used this card, then Renamon would acquire Kyukimon's special attack: Blade Twister. That also would last for just one time".

"How would I apply this in the heat of battle?", he asked.

"Your best bet", Henry explained, "would be to memorize as many as you can, and get an organizer so that you can select a card rapidly. Your partner's life could depend on it".

"Would it help to know this card game?"

"I doubt that it's all that apropos", Henry explained. "It's one thing, playing cards where you have all the time you need to set up strategies, analyse what your opponent's doing. In a real digibattle, you may not have even a second to decide".

"This is beginning to sound a good deal more complicated than I thought..."

"Koichi, I believe in you", Renamon reassured. "It's not like you will be there, all alone. I can also suggest how you can best help me. All partners do that for their Tamers".

"We've known Renamon longer than you have, and seen her in action. You have a very capable partner. You'll do just fine", Henry reassured.

"Don't forget about the most powerful card", Takato showed him a "Super Evolution Plug-In S" card. That one was self-explanatory. "Just be sure you use that only when it's absolutely necessary. Also, be aware: sometimes it doesn't work, and sometimes it does. Ruki was always complaining that the card never worked for her".

"Have you tried it?"

"I never did", Henry explained. "Terriermon has had enough fighting in the Digital World. I don't want him fighting here as well, and I never needed it".

"I haven't either", Takato explained. "I leave it up to Guilmon if he wants to evolve or not. I'm good either way, how he decides".

"Really?", Guilmon asked. "I got the impression you weren't very happy with it".

"Yeah, Growlmon was scary at first, you can't deny that. And inconvenient: it's hard enough hiding you as you are, let alone Growlmon's size... but now that we found that tunnel, that solves that little problem".

"I get the idea you haven't told your parents?"

"I don't know how we'd explain... Have you?"

"Right away: they know all about Renamon... Age has its privileges after all".

West Shinjuku: Takato's School

"What're you looking at?", Henry asked Takato. It was the end of another day, however Takato didn't seem interested in getting away as soon as possible, like the other kids.

"I was just hoping, you know, to see a digital field. After Guilmon beat Devidramon..."

"You've changed, you know", he commented.

"Do you think so? I don't..."

"There you are!" Just then, Takato was accosted by Kazu, who put him in a head lock: "I want revenge!", he announced. "You're not getting away this time!"

"Yeah, Kazu's got some new cards he wants to try out", Kenta explained.

"Owwww! Dammit!", Takato protested. "I don't care what new cards he has. I'll play him any time, anywhere..."

"You guys talking about Digimon again?", this time it was Takato's classmate, Juri Katou, accompanied by her long time gal-pal: Micki (Takato didn't know her last name). "You sure do seem to have an obsession..."

"Children!", declared Micki, as she began to giggle.

"YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT! OF COURSE WE'RE CHILDREN!", Kazu and Kenta sarcastically taunted back. Juri and Micki were both laughing now, as they walked off.

"Hellsamatter with them?", Kenta asked. "Always pretending to be older than they really are".

"It's Digimon Battle time!", Kazu declared.

"Alright, then, show me what you got!", Takato declared. "Henry...", he looked around.

During the distraction, Henry had taken his leave. He was more the loner, scholarly type, and his only involvement with digimon was the video game. He preferred playing on-line than in person.

They were at the dinosaur shelter, Takato and Kazu were going at it. Kenta, as usual, was standing by, watching. As bad as Takato was, Kenta was even worse, and it didn't take him long to lose.

"C'mon, hurry up", Takato prompted.

"Patience, my friend, patience", Kazu replied before making his final play.

"Shit!" Takato exclaimed. "I never saw that coming! It's too much..."

"See?", Kazu explained, "When I play serious, I win", he said as if it were too obvious to explain.

"Toldja yesterday was a fluke", he continued explaining to Kenta.

"You guys act like little kids over a silly card game", Takato defended himself.

"Don't be such a sore loser", Kazu reprimanded.

"Yeah? I'd like to see how you'd do in a _real_ battle!", Takato challenged.

"You're forgetting one thing", Kenta reminded, "there are no digimon".

"There are!", Takato insisted.

"Suuuure there are", Kazu mocked him. "Then how about you show us one?", both of them laughed.

"OK, then, you got it: come with me right now and I'll show you a real digimon!" Takato's wounded pride had finally gotten the best of him.

"Huh?", Kazu and Kenta asked one another. Surely he didn't... But he looked deadly serious. Whatever it was, they knew they had no choice but to see what their friend was up to. Takato led them to the park, down a nature trail, and finally up the steps to Guilmon's home away from home.

"He's in here", Takato warned them.

Kenta and Kazu looked around. It looked like an ordinary maintenance shed, but for the enormous hole ripped through the concrete of the rear wall that disappeared into unseen depths. They wondered how he'd managed that.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out. Nothing happened, nothing appeared.

"See? I toldja he was full of it", Kazu exclaimed in triumph. Takato couldn't produce the digimon he'd promised. Both continued looking into the depths of the excavation.

Then they heard something stirring within. Doubts were beginning to rise. Two yellow eyes glared back at them from the darkness.

Kenta and Kazu ran, screaming, from the shed and down the trail before waiting to see what came out of that hole.

"Takato?", Guilmon asked as he emerged.

"Were you asleep?", he asked.

"Taking a nap", Guilmon explained. "What was it you wanted?", he asked.

"It wasn't that important".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_The Akihabara_

"So you want lots of Digimon Battle cards? Aren't you a little old..."

"A gift for my younger brother", Koichi explained, "he's just gone ga-ga over that, and since it's his birthday... I mean, what else do you get for a tenth birthday?"

"Buying gifts for kids is never easy", the counterman agreed.

"You're sure there's no way to select..."

"They come as they are, I'm afraid..."

"I mean, he has some cards already, what about duplicates?"

"He can always trade them. That's the whole point".

"I see... Well, I'll take all you got".

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it".

_West Shinjuku: Railway Overpass_

Terriermon and Henry were back, and having that same discussion: "You could've stayed home. After all, I'm just picking up a few things for Mom..."

"I told you: shit happens when you're not there".

"What?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know".

"Suzy isn't _that_ bad, is she?"

"Bad enough..."

They saw it: the digital field. "Not again", Henry sighed.

This time, the field wasn't dispersing like it did before. This time, it began at the overpass, then thickened and expanded until it covered the entire intersection, stopping all traffic, as the signals couldn't even be seen. Neither could the cross walk signals, leaving people milling about, wondering to each other what was happening.

"Henry?", Terriermon asked, but his partner said nothing, did nothing.

There was a little girl standing at the corner with her mother. She lost the balloon she was carrying, and began to cry and run after it.

"Stop!", Henry called after her. "Don't go in there!"

It did no good: "Shit!", he muttered to himself. Finally, he made a decision: he ran after the girl, pulling on his sunglasses against the glare of the digital field.

It was huge, this digimon. Henry ran an ident:

_Musyamon_

_Champion, Virus_

_Demon man_

_Attack: Kirisute Gomen_

They weren't alone: Takato and Guilmon had gotten there first, but it didn't look as though they were having much luck. Takato was scanning cards, but without any reason.

"Why are you working with a human?!", Musyamon called to Guilmon, as he took a fierce swing at the crimson dino with an enormous sword. It could easily have sliced him in half, but Guilmon was fast enough to dodge. Then he connected with a kick, sending Guilmon flying.

"White wings: digimodify!", Takato scanned the card that gave Guilmon the temporary power of flight.

"What the _fuck_!", Henry thought. Musyamon wasn't a flighted digimon.

With Guilmon out of the way, Musyamon advanced on the little girl with a nasty laugh. This would be easy pickin's. He raised the sword:

"Humans must die!", he said.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out.

"Onnit", he replied.

"High Speed Plug-in H: Hyper Acceleration: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card. This gave Terriermon enough momentum to drive Musyamon, despite his size and mass, away from the little girl he was ready to slice in half.

"Terriermon!", he called out.

"Henry! Let's do this!", Terriermon agreed.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... GALGOMON!**

Galgomon fired his twin 0.50s at Musyamon: "Dipshit! Bringing a sword to a gun fight!", he taunted, as golden showers of brass casings clattered to the street. At first, it didn't seem to be doing much good against Musyamon's armour.

He tried something else, as he ran at the much larger opponent: "Dum dum upper!"

Galgomon literally blew his head off. Musyamon disintegrated into particles of data, which Galgomon loaded. This time, with no objections from Henry. Guilmon returned to earth as he lost his White Wings, but, at least, he was able to recover the little girl's balloon.

Now they had another problem: with Musyamon gone, so, too, was the digital field which had concealed them from view. They all ran off, towards the least crowded corner. Guilmon deposited the girl, and as luck would have it, the same corner where her mother was waiting.

"That digimon saved me!", she proclaimed.

"That's nice", her mother replied in that way adults always answer kids when they're making stuff up. By the time she looked, all she saw was a street filled with ordinary pedestrians. They ran for the only sanctuary they knew of: the park.

"Henry, you really don't mind?", Galgomon asked.

He paused. "That digimon was going to kill an innocent child. There was no one else who could have prevented it: we, the Tamers, saved a life. I guess I was wrong to insist that you never fight... There are some things worth fighting for that are more important than running up a score in a video game. I guess I failed to draw that distinction. You were right all along, and I just didn't see it until now".

"I'm sorry, Guilmon", Takato apologized. "I wasn't thinking, just mindlessly scanning cards..."

"Don't worry about it, no one's perfect", Guilmon reassured. "No harm, no foul".

They didn't see Mitsou Yamaki, as he played with one of Galgomon's spent casings. What he'd only suspected was now confirmed: kids _were_ playing with these Wild Ones. One more problem he didn't need. His Yuggoth program had turned out to be a good deal less effective than he'd hoped. It failed to destroy Musyamon, only slowing him down temporarily. Musyamon had hacked Hypnos' systems to issue his threats over the whole building's PA, and now, this time, Musyamon had deployed a countermeasure that rendered Yuggoth totally ineffective.

He could see his entire career beginning to circle the drain. Unless he did something, and soon.


	4. Ruki's Plan

**4) Ruki's Plan**

"Hey guys!", Takato called out, "deal me in!"

Kenta and Kazu were already playing by the time he'd arrived at their usual meeting place: the dinosaur shelter.

"We were just finishing up", Kazu said, as he gathered his cards and lay-out.

"Guys?"

"Was that for real?", Kenta asked.

"I told you: Guilmon is a _real_ digimon! If only you'd waited a little longer... Why did you run away?"

"That was a nasty trick you pulled!", Kazu accused. "I don't know how you managed it, especially how you made that hole in the wall, but as for the rest... not funny Takato".

"You just about scared the shit out of us", Kenta followed Kazu's lead (as he always did) "It was an impressive prank, but sometimes pranks can go too far, yannow".

"It wasn't a trick. If you'd've stayed..."

"C'mon Kenta, we're gonna be late"

"It wasn't a trick", Takato explained to the empty shelter. He didn't notice he was being watched.

"Guilmon?", Juri asked herself.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"How's it goin'?", Renamon asked.

"I have the cards, and I'm separating out all the duplicates", as he pointed out the organized stacks he was laying out on the kitchen table. "I guess I'll exchange some of these with Takato and Henry, then I'll try to select the most useful ones, memorize them, like Henry suggested".

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going out for awhile".

"Be back soon?"

"By lunch time, for sure".

"Have fun and stay out of trouble. And if you can't stay out of trouble, don't get caught".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Takato Matsuki?", a man in a dark gray suit, and dark sunglasses approached. "Henry Wong?"

"Uhhhh... that's me", Takato answered.

"Who are you and what do you want?", Henry asked.

"You were at the railroad overpass yesterday", he accused.

"How did..."

"It's a fine game if you play with cards. You kids are playing a dangerous game, and you don't even know it. Maybe someone should inform your parents..."

"Takato!", a cheerful voice called out.

"Hey you!", Henry called after the strange man. "I demand some answers!", as he began to chase after him.

"Juri?"

"Ummmm...", she began, "there was something..."

"Yes, Juri?", he prompted.

"I heard what you said in the park, and I want to see it too... your real, live digimon". She decided the direct approach was the best approach.

"You were spying?"

"I didn't have to. I'm surprised half the people there aren't asking you the same thing".

"If you're sure..."

"I really would like to see it", she insisted. Those eyes. Those deep brown eyes, Takato couldn't deny her request if his life depended on it.

Takato was explaining as they approached the shed: "He lives in here, and he can be a bit scary, but he's really quite gentle".

"What kind of a digimon is it?"

"Well, he's really strong, and I designed him..."

"You did?"

"Yeah, if you're familiar with Augomon... he's like that: a dinosaur, but bigger and bright red... anyway, we're here".

"He lives in here?", she asked, as the shed was apparently empty.

"Probably sleeping again... Guilmon!", he called out.

Two yellow eyes glared back, seeing the expression... "Ehhhhh, sorry Juri... just a bad joke. I shouldn't have led you on like that. Let's get out..."

"Ieeeeee!", she screamed. Takato cringed.

"Takato?", Guilmon asked. "Got any bread?"

Juri threw her arms around Guilmon. He'd totally misinterpreted her reaction.

"So cute!", she declared.

"You mean cool?", Takato asked.

"Ummmmm... Takato? Who's this girl? Friend of yours?"

"Hi, I'm Juri", she introduced herself. "Juri Katou".

"Yeah, sort of... she's in my class at school".

"Pleased to meet you Juri", Guilmon said. "Takato's friends are my friends".

"I know", Juri explained, "I have something that'll make you even cuter", she said, as she took a flower sticker from a pocket, peeled off the backing, and stuck it to Guilmon's snout.

"What do you think, Takato? Cute?", Guilmon asked.

"At least Kenta and Kazu didn't pussify my digimon!" He kept that thought to himself.

"Ehhhhhh...", was all he said.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

It was just Renamon, a deserted baseball field, and a forming digital field. Renamon had seen, and was investigating. Three flybeemon materialized, and one of them attacked. Renamon dispatched it with one swipe of her claws.

Another one got behind her and fired a stinger. She saw the flybeemon too late to avoid taking a hit, but at least it didn't hit anything vital. She pulled it out, but not before taking enough venom to drop her to her knees. Both flybeemon opened up with an electrical attack that caused her to almost pass out.

Henry and Terriermon were just now arriving. "Anyone in there?", he asked.

"Pika, pika, pika", Calumon was also joining them. "I believe so, culu?", he said with that peculiar mannerism that made everything he said sound like a question.

Renamon lay flat on her back, still. The two remaining flybeemon were closing in for the kill. Suddenly, Renamon leaped to her feet, jumped between the two flybeemon, catching them completely unaware.

"Koyousetsu!"

They burst into data. The digital field was dissipating, just as Koichi was arriving. "Damn fool wrecked and blocked the street, had to take the long way 'round".

Renamon vaulted over the chain link fence: a maneuver no human, no matter how athletic, could have done.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?!", Koichi reprimanded. "You aren't supposed to..."

"It was nothing..."

"That doesn't look like 'nothing' to me!", he pointed to the trickle of blood from her ankle.

"Just some flybeemon", she continued to explain. "Feral digimon. If they'd gotten out, who knows what damage they'd do".

"Renamon's right", Henry agreed. "It _is_ our responsibility as Tamers to protect the public from destructive digimon. If Terriermon and I hadn't acted when we did, a little girl would have lost her life".

"Think of the position it puts us digimon in", Renamon continued to explain, "how would it look to have feral digimon going around, attacking people? If I thought I couldn't handle them myself, I'd wait for you".

"I guess I shouldn't be so over protective".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

That night, Renamon slipped into Koichi's bedroom, climbed into his bed, straddling him on her knees.

"You remember when I said that we digimon materialize as fully functional physical beings?", she said, as her paws slipped under his pajama top.

"Uh-huh"

"I meant FULLY FUNCTIONAL".

Koichi slipped his hands under her mane. Her tits were quite small, as with any canid, but the nipples elongated and hardened under his touch. Her face lowered towards his, as his rose to meet hers. He locked his lips over her delicate, fuzzy lips, and began to explore her tongue with his.

He slid his hands over her furry form, over the furry buttocks, and began to explore her fuzzy white labs. Since digimon lived as virtual lifeforms, they had no concept of modesty at all. She pulled off his PJ bottoms, and began to pump his already stiffening shaft with her, three-fingered, padded, paw.

"I wannit", she said softly, as her lips locked onto his dick. She took it deeper than he thought possible. And she was getting very slick down there.

"I can't stand it!", Koichi called out as he rolled from beneath Renamon. He went to the foot of the bed, and Renamon understood, sliding herself forward until her tail dropped straight down. She pulled up her knees and spread her legs.

Koichi pushed her knees farther apart, and held on. She pulled back as he slipped into her warm wetness. He rammed it home, over and over, as Renamon's calls grew louder and much more fox-like. Neither cared if anyone else heard.

She was pure vixen as the orgasm hit: "_YIFF, YIFF, YIFF_...". One final plunge, and Koichi felt himself come, a seemingly endless stream of sperm pumping her full, one pulse after another. Finally, he collapsed on top of her, as she felt herself overflow, the warm trickle running down the base of her tail.

"Oh Renamon"

"Oh Koichi"

The morning light found them still intertwined.

"Sleep good?", his father, Doyle, asked with a wink when they went downstairs for breakfast.

"I guess it's not a secret"

"It wouldn't surprise me if half the neighborhood knew".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Renamon and Koichi were sitting in Koichi's car, a half-block or so from Takato's school. A man in a very dark, almost black, suit, with golden hair, and dark sunglasses stood in front of the gate. Just starring at the school, clicking his lighter.

"That the asshole?", Koichi asked.

"Fits Terriermon's description", Renamon confirmed.

"Wanna have some fun?"

"Huh?", Renamon asked. Koichi had his cell phone out and was dialing.

"Hello? Police department?"

"I don't know, but there's this suspicious character hanging around Shinjuku Elementary..."

"Dark suit, blonde hair, wearing dark sunglasses..."

"No, I don't recognize him..."

"Just standing there, I think he's waiting for a child to molest. Looks like a real perv, if you ask me..."

"I can't be sure, but I think I saw a pistol under his jacket..."

"My name? Takadashi Matsuki: my son is a student, and I'm very worried about this guy..."

"Thank you so much..."

They waited. Suddenly, two police cars approached from both directions, lights flashing, sirens giving a couple of brief squawks.

"You there!", one officer ordered Yamaki, "don't move!"

"Up against the wall!", the other ordered, as they began the pat down search.

"What business do you have here?"

Renamon and Koichi were both about ready to bust a gut, they were laughing so hard. It wasn't going to be a good day for Yamaki.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Renamon stood at the very edge of the roof of a high rise. She was watching a small, dark figure bouncing from one roof top to another. This was just what she'd been waiting for...

Impmon landed on the roof of a house, and looked down and through the bedroom window of the house next door. Two very young children, twin boy and girl, were fighting over a teddy bear. They had it between them, pulling its arms.

"You can play after I'm done!", the girl was telling her brother. Impmon heard every word, thanks to his sensitive digimon hearing.

"Mom said I could have it now!", her brother challenged.

Impmon had a flashback:

"Mako broke my doll! Punish him!"

"Punish?", Impmon asked.

"You took my toy first!", Mako counter challenged.

"That's because you used mine!"

"Mom said I could play with them!"

"Mom _didn't_ say that! Mako is a liar! Punish him!"

"Impmon, don't listen to my sister".

"Impmon, you have to do what I say! Do it!"

"Impmon!"

"Impmon!"

"Impmon!"

It went on and on, until they were literally trying to pull him apart. He remembered: "I left the Violet Zone Air Defense Corps for this?!", he thought.

The very idea gave him a shiver that caused him to wrap his arms around himself, as he watched the teddy bear's arm torn off, stuffing flying, as both children began crying.

"What?!", he turned to face the anthrovixen.

"What were you looking at just now?", she asked.

"Nunya damn business!", he said, as he took off.

Impmon wasn't the only one who could play mind games.

"Will you stop following me!", he demanded of Renamon.

"I just wanted to ask you something".

"_You_ want to ask _me_ something? Of course you would want to ask me. It's you human-dependent fools who would need my advice the most".

"Why don't you have a partner?"

"_I_ would _never_ have one of those stupid, selfish humans in control of my life!".

"Yet without partners, we can't evolve and become stronger..."

"What's with the 'can't this' and 'can't that'? You need to rely on your own resources for strength. You don't need to evolve for that".

"Then how? Where does it come from?"

"What are you? Stupid? I have to explain _everything_ to you?"

"Well?", Renamon prompted.

"You just have to reach deep within yourself. It's already there, you just have to find it for yourself. No one can do that for you..."

"I see", she said.

"What do you mean, 'I see'? You know-it-alls really piss me off. If you think you're so damned smart, then why bother asking?"

"Sorry to have bothered you", with that, Renamon turned and climbed the wall.

"Come back here, you!", Impmon demanded. "I'm not through with you!"

It was just as Renamon suspected all along: Impmon was a fast talker, but understood nothing.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_East Shinjuku: Ruki's House_

"Ruki, I need some potatoes", her grandmother Seiko requested. "Would you go and get some for me?"

"No", she said.

"But without potatoes, I can't make your favorite dish".

"I don't give a rat's ass. I'm not hungry, and I'm going out. I have better things to do than waste my time here with you".

Seiko was both perplexed and concerned: the attitude problem was getting worse, and she didn't know why.

_West Shinjuku_

It was nearly sundown, and Renamon was surveying the city from the top of a construction crane. There was a burst of light, as a thick, but localized, cloud was forming not too far off. Somewhere in the park, she decided.

Juri was just saying her farewells to Takato and Guilmon. Since meeting Guilmon, she'd visited again. He decided it was a good thing, that Guilmon was making friends on his own. Even if Juri insisted on calling him "cute", instead of "cool".

As Juri was departing, Henry and Terriermon were arriving.

"There's a digimon!", Terriermon said, as they ran past.

"He's right: there is a digimon materializing", Guilmon agreed. They followed after Henry and Terriermon.

Renamon looked all around the digital field. She couldn't see it yet, but clearly heard it: a high pitched "Keeee, keeee" sound.

Renamon jumped aside, just avoiding six sharp, long, red talons.

Takato, Guilmon, Henry, and Terriermon ran into the digital field.

"That's Renamon!", Takato announced the obvious, "and..."

Henry had his digivice out:

_Harpymon_

_Armour level_

_Mythical anthroform digimon_

_Her attack is Wind Seeker_

"Where's Koichi?", Takato asked.

As Guilmon and Terriermon were running forward to join Renamon, Harpymon folded her wings in front of her, then flung them wide:

"Wind Seeker!", she fired at them, however, it cut into the ground between them. She wasn't looking to harm them, just make them back off.

"Koyousetsu!", Renamon attacked, however, this was ineffective against Harpymon's body armour. She gave Harpymon a back-handed slap across the face.

"Koichi! You made it!", Henry announced his arrival.

He was just in time to see the end. Renamon leaped up, and threw punches at Harpymon, almost too fast for the eye to follow. She finished with a round house kick that knocked the anthroavian to the ground, unconscious and defenseless. Renamon just stood over the fallen digimon.

"What's wrong with Renamon?", Takato asked.

"Why isn't she defeating her enemy and loading its data, like always?", Henry asked.

"Because I asked her not to", Koichi explained. "Back off slowly; let's see what she does", he called to Renamon.

Harpymon shook her head, then sat up to look around. On one knee, she turned towards Renamon and the others.

"Wind..."

"Wait!", Koichi called out as he stepped forward. "Why are you attacking us?", he asked.

Harpymon stood: "_I_ should be asking _you_ that question! You sic your renamon on me... You, _none_ of you, are the one I seek!"

"We have been having problems with feral and malicious digimon lately", Koichi explained. "We need to be sure of your intentions".

"As if it's any of your business, I was called from the Digital World..."

"Harpymon!", a kid maybe slightly older than Henry was entering the digital field. "It's true, you really _do_ exist!"

"You are the one I seek", she said, as she ran towards her partner.

"RUKI!", Henry called out. He wasn't the only new arrival.

"Icedevimon..."

"DON'T!"

"...destroy her".

"Frost Claw!"

Harpymon never had a chance. She disintegrated into data: "That's it: come to papa", Icedevimon gloated, as he loaded Harpymon's data.

"NOOOOOOOOO!", the unfamiliar boy called out as he dropped to his knees.

"Another wannabe; another cry baby", Ruki said as she laughed. "Our work here is done... We'll take care of you later", she threatened. Ruki and her new partner disappeared into the surrounding woods.

"How... how could... how could she do that?", the boy sobbed as he looked at his now useless digivice.

"I'm so sorry", Koichi apologized. "I wish we could have prevented it".

He looked up with glistening eyes: "Why?"

"She's fucked up in the head", Koichi said. "C'mon, you can't stay here. We'll take you home".

"No..."

"You can't stay here", he told him again. He left, supported between Koichi and Renamon.

Henry knew he and Takato were thinking the same thing: Ruki and Icedevimon were specifically targeting partnered digimon.


	5. Shaggai

**5) Shaggai**

"He did _what_?", Koichi asked.

"That guy, said his name was Yamaki, he and some of his assistants took this digimon we were fighting", Takato was explaining. "Anyway, we did just like you suggested, we disabled it, and it said its name was Darklizardmon, and that it wanted to live here. Then Yamaki came... like they knew and were waiting".

"They had him in some sort of tank, culu?", Calumon was telling what he had witnessed. "They were running some sort of test, culu? Then it disappeared, and Yamaki told these other people to get rid of it, culu? He said Wild Ones don't deserve to live, culu, and he was going to find a way to destroy all digimon, culu?"

"And you know this, how?"

"I saw everything, culu? For whatever reason, they can't detect me, culu?"

"This isn't looking good", Koichi said. "Obviously has some connection to the government. It also looks like he enjoys his job a little _too_ much, if you know what I mean..."

"So we have to deal with some freaky asshole as well as Ruki?", Henry asked.

"The news just keeps getting better and better", Takato added sarcastically.

"I don't think our partners are in any immediate danger", Koichi said.

"What makes you think so?", Takato asked.

"Consider it: Yamaki could take Guilmon any time he wants. He knows about Takato, Henry, and your partners. He knows where you live, go to school, and when you're there, and when you're not. However, he didn't come after Guilmon or Terriermon, did he?"

"I wonder why not?", Henry asked.

"Who knows? General bureaucratic ineptitude? To avoid publicity? Or possibly because he needed a digimon who hasn't had human contact yet?"

"So what do we do?"

"I'd suggest just keep an eye out. Try to avoid situations where they can separate you from your partners. Other than that, we'll just have to wait and see. Hope for the best, and all that".

_Hypnos HQ_

Yamaki was having a four-way conference call. This was something he despised over anything else: dealing with politicians and bureaucrats. They held the purse strings; they set policy. They were clueless about computers, the network, the digimon - they were largely technical illiterates. He considered them beneath his contempt. But he had to keep them happy.

"It's important that we avoid anything that can give the public at large the impression the 'Net is a threat", one was saying the obvious.

"The phenomenon of the materialization of these virtual lifeforms outside the 'Net is being hidden this time, censoring all media...", another reminded. This one seemed brighter than the others, though that wasn't saying much.

"Don't forget that that is made possible by our network surveillance system: Hypnos", Yamaki reminded these politicians.

"The existence of Hypnos itself shouldn't become public knowledge either".

"So far, the public is largely in the dark. Sure, they suspect that the government - all governments - are monitoring on-line activity. They aren't exactly stupid, but are unaware of Hypnos' true capabilities".

"Just who created this Digimon thingie?", the dimmest bulb in the chandelier asked.

"It began as an Open Source project that anyone could participate in, and donate code. The original intent, to create virtual life, attracted too little attention to attract adequate funding. The program was pretty much cancelled, but being Open Source, anyone was free to use the code. As a result, Digimon lived on as video games for kids", the smartest one was explaining.

"It is also true that the original imperative, to evolve, lived on, and that's what happened. These video game characters, or so we thought, continued evolving without our being aware of it. They first attained self-awareness. That, in itself, would be of little consequence, except for the fact that they are appearing in the Material World in fully physical forms. Do you realize how this poses a threat?", Yamaki continued.

"Digital Monsters: their instincts are rather simple. They attack and defeat opponents to load the data, thereby increasing their own store of data. They're like wild animals in that respect - survival of the fittest. The big difference is that wild animals fight in nature with tooth and claw. These digimon fight in the street, in broad daylight, with particle beam weapons, lasers, fire, heavy caliber fully automatic weapons and high explosive ordnance. The military doesn't have some of these weapons in their arsenals, and we don't know how to defend against them should these digimon decide to turn their weapons on us.

So far, we've been lucky: the damage hasn't been too severe, and, so far - _so far_ - no one has been seriously injured or killed. If that isn't a matter of national security, then I don't know the meaning of those words... Humans created them, and humans must destroy them".

"Yamaki, about your request..."

"Shaggai", he added.

"Yes, how would its deployment affect the 'Net?"

"It would cause a period of confusion for a short time. There are always glitches and errors from time to time, and I doubt most users would even notice".

"What concerns me is that this project really amounts to our country's arming itself against the whole world, even if it's virtual. That could have international repercussions".

"No one will discover Shaggai".

"In any case, you don't really need our official approval to run a 'test'".

"Then we'll proceed along these lines, Yamaki".

"Understood. We'll conduct a 'test'"

"Cowards", Yamaki dismissed them as soon as the conference was concluded. He didn't realize the implication of what he'd just heard.

"What do you suppose is going on?", Riley asked Tally.

"I have no idea".

Hypnos had filled with strange men installing strange equipment over the next several days and weeks.

So far, it had been a lousy ten days. Except for the love making, that is. Ruki and Icdevimon had struck again. So far, they'd deprived would-be Tamers of: Biyomon, Elecmon, Lunamon, Gomamon. Reanmon had dispatched a vilemon on her own, and Koichi had assisted in getting rid of a goblimon who'd somehow managed to digivolve to Fugumon.

So far, they'd rescued but a single partnered digimon: Rhythm. With a little hair coloring, she could literally hide in plain sight, as she looked like a young girl. Still, she was a digimon, and so attracted, and was attracted to, other digimon. Hopefully, her Tamer would be wary of Ruki and Icedevimon. Was that good enough? They could only hope so.

How was it that they always seemed to know which digimon were coming for partners, and which were not?

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"There's something odd about the sky. culu?", Calumon told himself. "Looks a lot like where I came from, culu?"

Suddenly, he found himself thrown to the ground: "You and your 'culu, culu, culu'", Impmon complained. "You try to make yourself cute for the humans, and it disgusts me. Where's your pride as a digimon?"

"I didn't do anything to you, culu?"

"Well, then, if I bother you so much, then why don't you evolve, defeat me, and load my data?"

"I don't evolve, culu?"

"You're even more of a disgrace as a digimon than I suspected... I doubt that loading your data would make me evolve, but who knows? Every little bit helps". Impmon flicked up a fireball, and Calumon turned and ran away as fast as he could, Impmon in hot pursuit.

_Shinjuku Central Park_

Takato was at Guilmon's shed, discussing battle card strategies with his partner. At first, it looked as though Guilmon was suddenly preoccupied with something else.

"It's coming", he announced.

"The sky...", Takato remembered the odd "weather" he'd seen that day when his first Blue Card arrived.

"It's coming", Guilmon told him, quite sure of himself, "An extremely powerful digimon".

Terriermon and Renamon, unknown to each other, began acting unusually.

Shaggai had been activated. Chief Yamaki was standing on a pedestrian overpass, watching as the twin digiwarp beams began projecting from the roof of the Hypnos building's twin towers. It was as if these beams hit an unseen barrier, then began to send ripples of blue light outwards.

It was this that Impmon also saw, and which made him forget about loading Calumon's data.

"We have an abnormal packet of data developing in the network", Riley informed him via cell phone. He was out there to enjoy his handiwork: the elimination of all Wild Ones, regardless of whether they were friendly, hostile, or indifferent.

The principle behind the operation was that all digimon are attracted to other, nearby, digimon. The original purpose being to get them fighting back when they were nothing more than simple programs. The characteristic survived the coming of self-awareness. This is why Yamaki needed the data from Darklizardmon: to create digital "bait" to draw in the Wild Ones.

Takato and Guilmon, being the closest, were the first to arrive. By the time they did, it looked as though, whatever it was, was doing considerable damage. Directly above the Hypnos building, the sky and clouds were glowing bright red. He had no idea as to what was causing this, or for what purpose.

He was startled to see a large form fly past, followed by another.

"Takato!", Guilmon called out. He turned in time to see his partner momentarily "phase out". "Something doesn't feel right", he complained.

"What?"

"I... don't know..."

Takato looked up, by now, digimon, by the dozens, were being pulled into that disturbance. Some even burst into data before reaching it. All of them screaming in terror and agony.

"We must eliminate all foreign elements that have appeared in this world", this Yamaki was explaining as if he were discussing the latest weather report, or baseball scores. This was his euphemism for what Takato could take as nothing less than wholesale genocide. What made it worse was that he was enjoying watching them being tortured to death.

"Eliminate? That hole is deleting digimon?", Takato asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Yamaki reached towards Guilmon, who snarled back at him: "Your playmate isn't exactly friendly, is he?"

"Just towards assholes like yourself", but he kept that thought to himself.

"It's not like that!", he said.

"It's a disturbing bit of artificial life".

"Digimon are... digimon are...", Takato tried to defend. "Digimon are friends to us humans, but you won't even try to understand!"

"Takato!", Guilmon called out, "it's coming!"

As he said this, it looked like some blue beam of light was attacking that red hole in the sky. The digimon of the Digital World were deploying a countermeasure. Yamaki's cell phone went off.

"Something is materializing in Shaggai's hole!", a very disturbed Riley was telling Yamaki. The data on the screen of his hand-held showed exactly what they were seeing back in the control room.

"What is this?! This isn't supposed to happen! IT CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" There was no denying the facts. The digimons' countermeasures were forcing Shaggai to do the opposite of what it was designed for.

As Takato watched, it looked like the sky was tearing itself apart. He was looking at the Frontier, beyond which lay the Digital World.

Inside the control room, klaxons were blaring, and warning signs flashing. Shaggai's safety features kicked in, and went into emergency auto-shutdown. The beams faded. However, it was too little, and too late. The Frontier was still exposed for all to see.

All over Japan, cell phones chirped, buzzed, played ring tones. Every TV channel, every radio station, anything dependent on any digital connection, played the same message:

_"Attention! Attention! To the humans who created us:_

_We follow our own God now. We do not need you anymore, and from now on, your only justification for your continuing existence is to serve us, and our eternal evolution. The proof what we are telling you is visible in the skies above you. One very arrogant, and very foolish, human has just opened the gateway between our worlds"._

"So the Material World and the Digital World are connected?!", Takato asked Yamaki.

"Fuck!", he said. "They made me work for them! They made me open a gateway so they can come and go as they please!"

The biggest digital field he'd ever seen was forming, surrounding the Hypnos building, reaching street level, and was coming their way. Takato had to pull his goggles over his eyes against the glare.

Yamaki slinked off, in the opposite direction. Henry and Terriermon were coming towards him, but Henry seemed to not notice right away, as he was preoccupied with planning what he was going to do about this.

"You...", he said. Just then, Yamaki grabbed him by the throat.

Another hand grabbed Yamaki's wrist, gave a slight twist that sent waves of pain shooting up his arm. Koichi had learned a move or two from Henry.

"You really are a total piece of shit", Koichi told him, "in addition to being utterly incompetent. Why don't you pick on someone your own size? You lay a finger on any of these kids, and I'll see to it that you won't be able to use that hand to wipe your ass", he threatened.

"It's you kids... It's you GODDAMN kids! You're FUCKING with the natural order of the world!", he called after them and their partners.

"You want to see who's to blame, look in a mirror", Koichi called back.

"What an asshole", Terriermon observed.

"What digimon is it?", Takato asked Guilmon.

"Takato!", Henry called out.

"Henry, Koichi", he greeted.

"I'm goin' in", Guilmon announced. Takato took out his digivice:

"White Wings; digimodify!"

Guilmon flew to the top of one of the twin towers. Koichi and Henry both tried to get an ident on whatever it was, but both received no data.

"There's no digimon, even with the digital field?", Koichi asked.

Guilmon looked all around the roof, but saw nothing that looked even a bit out of the ordinary.

"There's something", Henry said, "but I'm getting no date at all. What kind of digimon is it?"

"Let me go", Terriermon said.

"Guilmon can handle it", Takato replied, as he pulled out another card:

"Super Evolution Plug-In S: digimodify!"

_Guilmon Evolve! ..._

**... GROWLMOM!**

It finally put in its appearance. They ran at each other, the dinosaurian and a very large tiger with shields attached to its shoulders and flanks. Neither attacked. They were sizing each other up.

Growlmon suddenly stopped, and whirled around: "Exhaust Flame!", he opened up with his main attack. The attack that had instantly incinerated Devidramon didn't even singe a single strand of fur. The "tiger" struck him with his tail, lifting him off his feet, and over the side.

Growlmon devolved as he dropped.

"No way!", Takato called out. He wasn't expecting this. All he could do was watch, helpless, as Guilmon plummeted to the concrete, hit with a sickening squelching sound, and lay there. Takato feared the worst. That fall should have killed any Material World being instantly. He ran to his partner, and placed a hand on Guilmon's shoulder. A yellow, mammalian eye opened. He was only stunned.

"Takato", Guilmon warned. "He's a powerful one: he must be an Ultimate. No, he might even be a Mega".

"Mega?", Takato asked.

"Is he alright?", Koichi asked.

"I'm not looking forward to doing that again any time soon", he said, as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Let me go!", Terriermon requested.

"Super Evolution Plug-In S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**GALGOMON!**

"Dum dum upper!", he fired. Used in reverse, this attack worked to propel him, rocket-like, to the roof.

"I'm _still_ not getting any information on the damn thing", Koichi announced.

"Then what cards do I use?", Henry asked no one in particular.

Galgomon stood there, mouth hanging slack. It had one helluva size advantage. He could only hope he had the firepower advantage. He opened up with his twin 0.50s.

From the ground, they heard the gunfire, saw the muzzle flairs.

From ten feet away, the twin 0.50s that could reduce a car to scrap metal in seconds, had no effect. He continued firing, following the tiger-like digimon, keeping the lead on target. It didn't even seem to be very concerned. This wasn't looking good at all.

The tiger leaped across, landing on the other tower, as Galgomon continued firing. Henry saw the tiger try to sneak around, to get behind Galgomon. He had no way to warn his partner, but his worry was needless: Galgomon wasn't fooled. He swung around, firing until he was clicking.

As with Growlmon, he whacked Galgomon with his tail, sending him flying from the roof. Galgomon devolved on his way down, but, being lighter, Terriermon didn't hit as hard, and wasn't knocked out. Henry ran to him, picked him up, to see if he was OK. Terriermon said something Koichi didn't hear.

"He said that that tiger hesitates before striking. Maybe that'll help"

"Onnit", Renamon said, as she climbed the side of the building, then leaped to the roof.

"Super Evolution Plug-In S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

Kyuubimon and the "tiger" faced off. The kitsune the size of a draft horse, and the one opponent who wasn't at a size disadvantage, lowered her head, closed her eyes, and spread her tails like a peacock.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", she attacked. The nine bluish fireballs drove the "tiger" back.

"Foxfire Dragon!", she attacked again, as she leaped at the "tiger", as she began to spin head over heels, faster and faster until she "dissolved" into a uniform mass of bluish foxfire. A dragon-like head appeared with a roar clearly heard from the ground.

The next thing Kyuubimon knew, she was trapped in the tiger's jaws, as she was being torn apart. She began shedding data.

Koichi dropped his digivice, and dropped to his knees to keep from planting his face into the concrete. With the last of his consciousness, he uttered a single word: "Mihirimon".

"What's wrong?!", Takato called out.

"Koichi!", Henry said, as he ran to see what had happened.

A crowd was beginning to gather, as there was no hiding a digital field of this size. Kazu, Kenta, and Juri were among those who'd come to see what was happening. They were the few there who knew what was going on...

Koichi found himself in some weird place. It looked like being trapped in some elaborate clockwork. "That bite: it hurt me as much as Kyuubimon"

"Tamer", he heard someone call. He looked around. Kyuubimon was off in the distance, laying on her side.

"Kyuubimon!"

"Tamer... I did my best" (Why is she calling me "Tamer", she never did that before now.)

"But... we lost, didn't we?"

"Tamer: let me try again. I haven't given up yet. Let me try again; I want to try again... Koichi, you're my Tamer, aren't you..."

Koichi recalled the defeat of Guilmon and Terriermon.

"I'm your Tamer", he called out, and began to fly towards Kyuubimon. "And you're my LOVE! Kyuubimon!"

Just as he reached out to Kyuubimon, he found himself holding Calumon's hands instead.

"Cal... Calumon?"

"Feeling better, culu?", he asked.

"What a relief".

"You had us worried".

They heard gunfire coming from three helicopter gunships.

"I doubt conventional weapons are going to work", Henry observed.

"But now, with Kyuubimon defeated..."

"She hasn't lost yet!", Koichi declared. "I _refuse _to give up on her! Not now! Not _ever_!"

As he gathered his digivice, and began to collect his cards...

"A Blue Card", Henry and Takato announced at once.

So this is the famous Blue Card I've been hearing about, he thought, as he scanned it.

_Kyuubimon Matrix Digivolve To ..._

**... TAOMON!**

"Why?!", demanded Mihirimon.

"She evolved..."

"...to Ultimate"

"On!", Taomon created a force field that Mihirimon couldn't penetrate, as he slammed his tail at it.

"Why have you evolved?! You're _nothing_ but some human's pet! How do you evolve?! You don't worship our God! How does an infidel like you evolve!"

Taomon dropped the force field, and soared above Mihirimon.

"I'd explain it to you, but you wouldn't understand", she said, as she produced a large calligraphy brush and "painted" a symbol: "Bonhitsusen!"

The symbol appeared on Mihirimon's side, burnt its way through his body just before he exploded into particles of data.

Yamaki saw the whole thing: "I brought that critter into this world, and a bunch of kids who think it's some elaborate game sent it back. If the damn politicians figure out how cost effective they are, I'm through".

Taomon, though she didn't look like it, was a flighted digimon. Getting off the roof was simply a matter of stepping off, and drifting to the ground.

"_That _is so fucking cool!", Kazu said.

"A real digimon", Kenta said.

"Is that Renamon?", Juri asked.

"No, that's Renamon after digivolving to Ultimate", Kazu said.

Taomon and Koichi embraced. "Thank you for this", she said. "You are so going to get laid tonight"

"Who's that?", Kenta asked.

"Takato's and Henry's friend?", Juri speculated.

"Did she just say what I think she just said?", Kazu asked.

"He's gonna yiff all her digivolutions".

"Terriermon!"

"Moumentai!"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"_These_ are your new friends?!", Doyle Lonnegan asked his son. "Aren't they..."

"Yes, they're almost half my age, and I can't explain how that happened. Renamon isn't the only digimon, and these are the partners of the other digimon. Takato, here, received his partner after creating that character. You don't think he's unique in that regard? Deviant Art, Fur Affinity, and God knows how many other sites are _full_ of fanart and fanfic. Why don't their characters come to life?

How about Henry? You don't think he's the_ only_ one who chose Terriermon to play 'Digital Monsters'? So why him? These kids are the ones with partners, and they are the ones I have no choice but to work with. Especially since they've been at this a lot longer, and they know more than just about anyone else when it comes to everything Digimon".

Koichi convinced the other Tamers to meet at his home, rather than the park. Less chance of being overheard, especially with what Koichi was proposing.

"We're gonna need information, considering these recent events. That means we need to get inside Hypnos, and that means we need Calumon. I have to discuss this with him..."

"We don't know where he lives - he refuses to tell us. As for how, he just sort of shows up".

"As soon as you see him, get him to me. Even if you have to bring him bound and gagged".

"I don't think..."

"Never mind. It is critical, as he's the only one who can do this".

"What about this Shaggai?"

"I doubt it'll present any more problems. That was quite a cock-up, and not even Yamaki and the sum total of Hypnos can make _that _go away. If it was supposed to be some secret project, well, it's not a secret anymore, now is it?"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"You wanted to see me, culu?", Calumon asked. Renamon had tracked the elusive cream puff down.

"Let's get a few things straight, I know enough..."

"You don't know me, culu?"

"I know three things: One: you're not as stupid as you want everyone to believe, so you can drop the act. I'm not buying it. Secondly, you're not a digimon..."

"I _am _a digimon! Culu?"

"Oh really, then show me a 'Calumon' card. We both know you can't. Secondly, you admitted to Impmon that you don't digivolve, and you had no attacks against him. And Impmon is just about the weakest Rookie in existence. Even Terriermon kicked his little purple ass. That's why Hypnos can't detect you as anything other than an unknown anomaly on the 'Net. That's why we need you: you can get in there..."

"I'm not going back there, culu?!"

"I understand that seeing what happened to Darklizardmon was upsetting. Still, we need you as there is no one else who can. We need to know what Yamaki is up to before he pulls another stunt like that last one. You just might be saving your own life. Think about that".

"What do you want me to do, culu?"

Koichi handed him several pen drives: "Download anything that looks interesting".

A few days later, the Tamers were gathered around Koichi and his computer.

"Most of what Calumon downloaded was total bullshit. However, this is interesting...", he clicked on a file.

_"Takato Matsuki_

_Partner: Guilmon_

_DOB, Place of Residence, yada, yada, yada..._

_Despite his happy-go-lucky demeanor and the occasional displays of childish immaturity, he is quite intelligent, even if he is an underachiever in school, and the occasional discipline problem. This makes it easy to underestimate him. He is also quite determined, and has definite leadership qualities. His greatest weaknesses are a certain sentimentality towards his partner, with a reluctance to put him in danger. He is susceptible to depressive episodes that can lead to his giving up too easily._

_Threat level: High"_

He clicked on another file:

_"Henry Wong..._

_Henry fits the stereotype of the on-line gamer and 'geek'. He does not make friends easily, and is somewhat socially awkward. However, his friendships are steadfast. His technical proficiency rivals that of his father, Janyu Wong, and is years beyond that expected of a fifth grade student. Major weakness is his extremely sentimental view of digimon, and pacifist tendencies and beliefs. When faced with a decision, he tends to suffer 'paralysis from analysis'._

_Update: Disregard the above. He has demonstrated he is willing to commit his partner to battle._

_Threat level: Moderate"_

"Anything on you?", Takato asked.

"Oh yeah..."

_Unknown Tamer_

_Partner: Renamon_

_Update: This new Tamer has been identified as Koichi Lonnegan. Nationality: American_

_Being much older, Koichi is the most mature of the Tamers. He has a nasty temper, and is very protective of the other Tamers and their partners. There is no doubt that he will resort to violence, and would kill without remorse in defense of his associates. Reputed to be having a...", he scrolled the screen._

_"Let's skip that part, shall we?"_

_"...It may become necessary to eliminate him by finding a pretext, or manufacturing one, for deportation._

_Threat Level: Extreme"_

"It would seem our Mr. Yamaki has been a busy little bee. I think you'll find this fascinating:

_"Ruki Makino and her partner, Icedevimon, have proved themselves most useful for the elimination of Wild Ones materializing for the purpose of partnering with children. Ruki disdains friendship, and avoids relationships. Her main motivation is the seeking of power and recognition, as she believes this to be the means by which she can earn the love of others. Has a very uneasy relationship with her mother, and seems to prefer the grandmother. These tendencies make her unusually easy to manipulate for our purposes of keeping these digimon away from kids, and their tendencies to see the Wild Ones, not as threats to our world, but as pets to domesticate"._

"I knew it!", Takato said. "That day, when Yamaki captured Darklizardmon, he called me a 'cowardly kid'. I couldn't understand it at the time, because I didn't do anything cowardly. I didn't run away, or anything like that, and I challenged this guy about what he was doing. The only one who called me a 'coward' was Ruki. He must've heard it from her".

"Yamaki is a real piece of work, using a disturbed young girl like that", Koichi said. "Oh, and he has further ambitions for Shaggai. Before, he just wanted to eliminate digimon who'd crossed over. Bad as that was, and because the digimon have embarrassed him by defeating Yuggoth, and deployed an effective countermeasure against Shaggai, he wants ultimately to destroy the whole Digital World..."

"He can't do that?", Takato asked.

"Not at the moment, but he's alluding to something different, but didn't go into details".

"What can we do about it?"

"I also have the names of his sponsors and superiors. It's illegal to have sex with kids in this country?"

"Well, yeah, what else did you think?", Henry pointed out.

"Based on some stuff I've seen on-line, and Anime, Yaoi, and Yuri, I had my doubts. How about e-mailing these superiors with the suggestion he's banging Ruki? If we conceal where they're coming from. He was already caught by the cops hanging around Takato's school".

"If he isn't..."

"Doesn't matter, a suspicion's good enough. Besides, it'll give him something else to worry about besides Shaggai".


	6. Panic in the Subway

**6) Panic in the Subway**

"You get that e-mail off? Make it look like it came from the headmaster of Ruki's school?", he asked Henry.

"Piece o' cake"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Sir, I don't understand..."

"Chief Yamaki, I must insist you break off your liaisons with the Makino girl. Some very disturbing rumours have come to my attention..."

"I... don't understand... She's been a valuable asset for the protection of the children..."

"Do I need to spell it out for you? Very well: are you fucking her?"

"How could you insinuate..."

"I have an e-mail from the headmaster of her school. He denies he ever sent it, but he _did_ confirm that he's seen you with her, right outside her school. Meeting her there was a very foolish thing you did. I'm not accusing you of any impropriety, but Yamaki, that's not good enough for someone in my position. Even the appearance of impropriety is something that both of us need to avoid.

And need I remind you of just how precarious your position is? After your failed test of Shaggai: no one was supposed to even suspect its existence, and you totally screwed the pooch there, didn't you?"

"We're fixing it".

"And that's the only reason you still have a position with Hypnos. No one else understands the system as well as you do, and a replacement is going to be extremely difficult to find on any sort of short notice.

From now on, avoid Makino like the plague. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir, very".

His partnership with Ruki Makino had worked to both their advantages. It kept Wild Ones away from kids who thought to domesticate them, and it also meant fewer Tamers, less chance to lose her special status as one of a tiny elite, less chance that someone would come along, and depose her from being the Digimon Queen.

Now, it was all over. There was no way Yamaki could chance being seen with Makino now, too much risk in sending e-mails, and even cell phones were a good deal less private than most cell phone users believed. He had a good idea who was behind these rumours of sexual impropriety. Unfortunately, that girl was so screwed up that disproving it would be next to impossible.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

It was early in the morning at a station of the Oeda line, and the subway rent-a-cop was more supporting, than escorting, a very drunk man: "Party a bit too hardy last night?", he asked.

"My life SUX", he slurred with a very furry tongue.

"You can't stay here. I'll call you a cab, get yourself home and sleep it off"

The security guard didn't see it: the "mist" that was coming down the subway tunnel. Two glowing red eyes appeared.

"It's a... snake! A GIANT snake!"

"I always thought it was pink elephants", the guard replied. "No matter, a little hair of the dog that bit-cha will make the snakes go away".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Henry, Koichi, Takato, and their partners had gathered at the park. Takato said he wanted to show them something, but was rather evasive about what, exactly.

"We're the only ones who can fight off these digimon who invade the Material World", Henry said.

"Thanks for that observation, Great Master of the Obvious", Koichi replied. "But he's right, there must be some meaning behind all this. It didn't just happen for no reason. Nothing ever does".

"That's right", Takato agreed, "we're a team!" ("Now Guilmon")

Guilmon stuck his head inside a nearby shelter, and pulled something out. It was a banner with some very horrible drawings of Henry, Takato, Koichi, their partners, and Calumon. Along the bottom: "Digimon Tamers". It was attached to a thin bamboo pole.

"It's our flag", he announced.

"How corny", Terriermon observed.

"I can't believe he actually made_ that_", Henry agreed.

Koichi knew that Takato's desire to draw would always exceed his talent: "I dunnow", he said, "but I kinda like it".

"Really?", Takato asked.

"Really".

A sudden gust caught the banner, and Guilmon wasn't expecting that, as he lost his balance, breaking the pole as he fell.

"Guilmon!", Takato reprimanded.

"I owe you one", Terriermon said.

"They're having fun, culu?", Calumon told himself, as he looked on from the top of a lamp post.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Takato!", his father called out, "you have visitors".

"I wasn't expecting any", he thought to himself. It was a Sunday morning, and this was most unusual. He went to the front door... Half his class was there: Kenta, Kazu, Juri, Micki, and some others whose names he didn't recall straight offhand. It was pretty obvious what they wanted, after Juri had run her yap before homeroom, the day after meeting Guilmon; after what they'd seen at the Hypnos building.

"What you have here is a real, live digimon", Kazu was lecturing, "Guilmon". Kazu had a tendency to do this, act like he was in charge of everything. There were the expected "ohhhhh's" and "awwwwwww's".

"Takato's friends are my friends", Guilmon announced, as he received pets.

"Guilmon will be _our_ secret", Kazu was saying.

"That 'secret' got out a long time ago", Takato kept that to himself. Kazu couldn't help being, well, Kazu.

"Look what I found", Kenta called out as he pushed an abandoned grocery cart. "Let's ride Guilmon on it!"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Ruki had accompanied her grandmother to the theatre to see a play for children her age. This was one thing Ruki was looking forward to: being out with her grandmom, as she much preferred her company to that of her mother, whose only interest was in shopping. A play, with live actors, no delay, no redo's for blown lines and missed marks, not on a screen, was something she didn't get to see very often.

This particular play was about a man and his anthrocanine partner. She felt a twinge of conscience, contrasting the relationship being enacted on the stage, and her betrayal of her own anthrocanine partner. She tried to put that thought out of her head. Icedevimon was a better partner anyway, and the one she should have had from the very beginning. He wasn't trying to insinuate himself into her life, he was a Champion, not a Rookie, and he could kick ass like Renamon couldn't.

"You people think this is a fairy tale", she thought to herself, "you have no idea".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"What a fool you are!", Impmon was beginning another one of his rants. "Playing silly child games. You really are a pathetic excuse for a digimon!"

"Huh?", Guilmon asked, as he wondered if this was meant for him.

"Takato, is he a digimon too?", Juri asked.

"Uhhh, yeah, but it's best to ignore him", he advised. Maybe he would cease and desist if he received no attention?

"I think he's one of the bad guys", Kazu said.

"Don't you understand that they're using you like a toy? What's next? Will you let them dress you in diapers, and make you drink milk from a bottle? Is there no limit to the nonsense you'll endure at their hands?"

"Introducing Guilmon's newest attack: Guilmon Missiles", Kenta announced as he placed wads of tissue paper in Guilmon's nose. One sharp exhale, and the wads went flying farther than Kenta expected. Everyone cheered and congratulated. Apparently, there wasn't.

"Oy Vey!", Impmon exclaimed. "He's even happy when they stick paper up his nose. That's really dumb. He's a Dumbmon..."

"You...", someone called nearby, startling him.

"Are you jealous of Guilmon?", it was Renamon.

"Don't startle me like that!", he reprimanded. "How could you even ask? That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard you say!"

"Oh, I dunnow: for someone so 'disgusted' (making finger quotes) you spend an otherwise pleasant afternoon subjecting yourself to such 'torture' (finger quotes). You can't find a better use for your time? Food for thought", as she leaped to another tree.

"You get back here and explain yourself!", he ranted after her. What she was up to was pretty obvious: she was challenging his belief that he didn't need a partner.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Rumiko? We should be home directly", Sieko was telling her daughter as she and Ruki waited at the subway platform. "Ruki really enjoyed the play..."

"It was a cute story, you should have come..."

Ruki's digivice alerted: an incursion was in progress. The direction finder was pointing in the same direction as the tracks ran. Whatever it was, it was materializing somewhere in the tunnel.

The characteristic "fog" came rolling down the tunnel, as Ruki pulled on her sunglasses. She began hustling her grandmom towards the stairs leading to the street: "We can't stay here!", she explained, tricking her into believing she was coming too.

Between the thickening fog, and the increasing glare of the digital field, the subway rent-a-cop didn't notice Ruki.

"C'mon, you need to leave!", he ordered Seiko.

"My granddaughter...", she protested.

He either wasn't paying attention, or he didn't hear, as he forced her to evacuate. The digimon had appeared: that "snake" from earlier that morning was back. Ruki ran an "ident", but was coming up with no data. That meant one thing: newly created digimon. It also meant something else: ally.

"Icedevimon!", she called for her partner. He appeared as quickly as Renamon would have.

The "snake" looked at them and growled.

"Yes, Ruki?"

"If we have any interference, you know what to do".

The "snake" was definitely sizing them up, not attacking.

"We're on your side", she told the snake digimon. By this time, the data had arrived. Santiramon was his name. "We work for the same one you do". After Yamaki explained he could no longer have anything to do with her, she'd found a new ally who would support her endeavor to remain the biggest fish in a pond she was determined to keep small.

Henry and Terriermon were heading from the opposite direction, as they were returning from Henry's latest Kung Fu lesson. Terriermon was imitating the moves he'd seen Cho-sensei teaching Henry.

"Terriermon, a little less enthusiasm, if you please? You're attracting too much attention".

"It's boring. I wish something interesting would come up". He was about to get a lesson in be careful for what you wish...

"A digimon!", he declared, as soon as they'd exited the subway car. The conductor saw it too, and hit the "panic" button that automatically sounded an alarm, and opened all the doors at once. People began streaming for the nearest exit.

Whatever this thing was, all it did was open its mouth. The whole subway train began "dissolving", in the same manner as a digimon being deleted and breaking apart into raw data. Henry noticed two things at once: there was a young child left behind, and Icedevimon and Ruki were coming at him.

"Ruki! Stop! There's a..."

"Zero Freeze!", Icedevimon attacked.

Terriermon had to dodge that attack, as it would have taken him out. Henry still held the "Wargraymon" card he was intending to use to equip Terriermon with Wargraymon's shield.

Santiramon next barfed up a large spear. It was too late. Between that "spear", which was really an energy attack, and whatever else this thing had launched, the entire subway train simply disappeared. A distraught woman was calling for "Taka-chan".

"Ruki! How could you! Terriermon could have saved... You just _murdered_ a child! DAMN YOU!"

"Chlorine for the gene pool", she laughed, "not my fault if it was too stupid to get off".

"THAT'S IT! Super Evolution Plug-In S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... GALGOMON!**

Galgomon began firing at Santiramon, against whom his 0.50s were having no effect. Henry had no idea as to how close he'd just come to dark digivolving Terriermon.

"Forget the damn snake!", Henry called out, "Get Ruki!" He recalled that time in the garage: now he wished he'd let Galgomon shoot her.

"Henry? Are you sure...", Terriermon wasn't expecting he'd be ordered to attack a human. So far as he knew, it just wasn't done.

"Icy Shower!", Icedevimon fired back, knocking Galgomon off his feet, buying Ruki and Icedevimon the time to climb aboard the snake Deva.

Something else was coming down the tunnel: Kyuubimon with Koichi riding her like a horse.

"Henry? Glad to see I have some extra help. No idea where Takato got to".

"Get them!"

"Hyperspeed Plug-in B: digimodify"

"Hang on", Kyuubimon ran much faster, then propelled herself down the tunnel with an enormous blast of foxfire.

Impmon had seen from the street. He knew what he had to do... He took his own brand of shortcuts back to the park.

"Those kids have made you so GODDAMNED useless you don't even know there's a digibattle raging right beneath your feet!", he accused.

Guilmon hadn't been paying attention, but now he was: "He's right, there are digimon down there".

"Yeah, they're fighting for their lives and you're shooting snot-balls!"

"A real digibattle?", Kazu said, "that's so damn cool! I gotta see this! C'mon, the subway!"

"Wait!", Takato called out. "You _can't_... this isn't a game, and it is dangerous. You, all of you, need to stay away. I mean it, it's for your own good".

Kazu and the rest of his classmates were a bit disappointed, but understood his point.

"Guilmon!"

"Rock and Roll Breaker!", Guilmon began to dig another tunnel to intercept the subway line running under the park.

"Wait, Takato, before you go, take this card", Kazu offered him one of his best cards.

"Good luck!", Juri called out.

"Do your best", Micki encouraged.

"Kick ass!", Kenta added.

"You're welcome!", Impmon sarcastically called out from his perch in a tree overlooking the scene.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", Kyuubimon was attacking Icedevimon. This time, instead of flinging them off her tails, she transported them all around Icedevimon. He leaped clear just as they exploded. This was what he feared most: fire attacks.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", she attacked Santiramon to warn him off.

"Super Evolution Plugin S: digimodify!", Ruki scanned the card.

_Icedevimon Evolve! ..._

**... MYOTISMON!**

"Night Raid!"

"Foxfire Dragon!"

The two attacks neutralized each other.

Santiramon was charging up an energy attack, as the back of his throat began to glow. Before he could launch it, Takato and Guilmon dropped from the ceiling, landed on Santiramon's head, distracting him, and bouncing and rolling to the floor.

"'Bout damn time you showed up", Koichi said, "We've got a real problem here!".

"We need your power", Kyuubimon said.

"Not a prob", Guilmon said.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Guilmon Evolve! ..._

**... GROWLMON!**

"Night Raid!", Myotismon attacked Growlmon, knocking him to his knees, threatening to immediately de-digivolve him.

"Kazu, I'm using your card", Takato said: "Power Charger: digimodify!"

An orange glow surrounded Growlmon.

"Exhaust Flame!", he retaliated.

"Foxfire Dragon!"

Myotismon took a direct hit, and began to de-digivolve.

"If only I had one of those damn Blue Cards!", Koichi said, just as he spotted Calumon, who'd been there for how long he didn't know. He saw the red triangle on his forehead begin to glow...

_Kyuubimon Matrix Digivolve To..._

**... TAOMON!**

"Let's get the hell out of here!", Ruki told Icedevimon, as she helped him to his feet.

"Together now", Taomon announced, as she produced the calligraphy brush.

"Bonhitsusen!"

"Exhaust Flame!"

They hit Santiramon almost at once. Santiramon dropped, but he wasn't quite done. Henry and Galgomon were just now arriving.

Santiramon laughed, though it didn't look like he had anything to laugh about.

"I have failed", he announced, "but you have not won. Prepare yourselves, human-loving digimon, for your destruction is at hand. My brothers, my fellow Deva, will avenge my death".

"Who are the Deva?", Taomon asked.

"Twelve servants sent to demonstrate the power of God. Twelve servants to bring God's wrath upon the humans who dared to attack our world".

"You mean there are eleven of you freaks still out there?", Galgomon asked.

Santiramon was laughing again, and continued laughing until he burst into data.

"What is a 'Deva'?", Henry asked.

"They're...", Koichi began to explain.

"Later, how about getting the hell out of here?", Takato announced, as he pointed up at the opening Guilmon made.

Up in the park, eight pairs of wide eyes surveyed Growlmon, Taomon, and Galgomon with "ohhhh's" and "ahhhhhh's" being all Takato's classmates could say.

"They're all digimon?", Juri's friend, Micki asked.

"Yep", Kazu confirmed.

Too little, and way too late, the sound of approaching sirens was heard.

"Better get the digimon out of sight", Takato said. He got no complaints, as they all ran off into the woods.


	7. Intermezzo: Soul Searching

**Intermezzo: Soul Searching**

"Takato, you can't blame yourself", Koichi was telling him. Both he and Henry had asked to come over to see him. Both arrived without their partners, which was highly unusual.

"Your friends from school dropped by", he continued, "and they wanted to see Guilmon. Can you blame them for that? It would have been better had Juri kept her mouth shut, but, really, can you blame her? Really, how many people - including adults - would have the fortitude to keep _that _a secret? They wanted to play with Guilmon once you were at the park. You could have been a real asshole and sent them away. Granted, that would have gotten you to Kyuubimon and me much sooner, but how could you know? You couldn't. What's done is done, so forget about it. Just be grateful Impmon warned you in time. Be glad you thought to give Guilmon the tunnelling ability that got you to us when we needed you the most".

"Then you don't blame me? I feel so inadequate as a Tamer".

"Just because you happened to find Guilmon didn't mean you have to stop being human. If you keep measuring yourself against perfection, you _are _going to come up short every time".

"We're not disappointed in you", Renamon agreed. "You've known me long enough to know that".

"You... mean it?"

"If we thought you were unreliable, we would have told you to get lost long before now. We still trust you and know we can always count on you... Remember what Yamaki's dossier on you said? Prone to depressive episodes? Don't let yourself fall into that trap".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Ruki actually said that?", Koichi asked.

"I heard her: she _actually _laughed and joked when I told her she and that partner of hers prevented us from saving that child's life".

"I knew she was insensitive..."

"I knew it from the instant I met her... the callous indifference to Takato, Guilmon, even her own partner. She always said that 'digimon are for fighting'..."

"What did you expect? Indifference to life is indifference to life. She was bad news from the get-go..."

"I always thought..."

"You could change her? Henry: you're a caring person, and that's a good thing. You _can't_ change _anyone,_ not unless and until they want to change. Now, I don't know what in the hell happened to that girl; I'm not a shrink and she isn't my patient. Maybe she was just born bad. Maybe she's just one of those types who're headed for a lifetime of bouncing from prison to the outside and back again, or she'll end up pregnant by fifteen, hopelessly addicted by eighteen and dead by twenty. I don't know. These things happen and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.

I can understand you were pissed off, but ordering Galgomon to kill her was not one of your better ideas. It's bad enough, what these digimon are doing. Even the good ones do considerable damage. Remember when you told me about the underground garage? How much do you suppose that cost? So far, we haven't had any dead bodies. All everyone would have seen is a young girl cut to pieces by machine gun fire. They wouldn't've listened to your side of the story, and aside from the mother of that lost child, they wouldn't've cared. If you think Yamaki is a problem now, something like that would have given him just the pretext he needs to fire up Shaggai again".

"I know that, but it's like that time all over again. Right after I started studying with Cho-sensei... this kid - I don't recall his name - was always teasing me. One day, I just blew up and used what I'd learned to beat the shit out of him. Ever since, I can't trust myself..."

"Henry, that's absurd. We all get pissed, it happens. What you saw: had it been me instead of you, I probably would have done the same thing and ordered Kyuubimon to kill her. At least I'd have the advantage that Ruki would have been incinerated, so no body or other incriminating evidence", Koichi chuckled at that.

"I don't see what's so..."

"It isn't really. The point is: you've already learned valuable lessons in when to fight and when not to. Don't go second guessing your decisions. Simply learn from this experience, and take another lesson. You felt righteous indignation: good for you. You made a mistake: it happens, and it'll probably happen again. Don't let it get to you, and learn how to forgive yourself when it does".


	8. A Visit to the Akihabara

**7) A Visit to the Akihabara**

"You're shitting me, right?", Koichi was hearing about the end of the year camp-out sponsored by the school. "You were out after 'lights out', climbing a hilltop overlooking Tokyo? You _actually_ took your partners and Calumon somewhere along the river, out of sight of the teachers? Then you got on a bus and rode all the way to the dam?"

"I thought you wanted to hear..."

"_If_ my school had a camp-out - which they wouldn't because of potential lawsuits - there is no way in _hell_ we could have gotten away with any of that. They'd be watching us like hawks".

"I thought America was the land of the free?", Takato asked.

"Believe me, America ain't the America you learn about in class. Over even my lifetime, the good ol' US of A has become the land of the uptight, stuck-up, filled with control freaks of every size, shape, and stripe. They keep telling us we're 'free' (making finger quotes) but our schools don't have camping trips to cap the school year either. The spirit of eighty four is winning over the spirit of seventy six... Enough ranting for now. It's just that I was very surprised to hear about it".

"Seems they don't trust you very much".

"I heard a saying once: the biggest problem is that Europeans treat children as adults and America treats adults as children".

"Anyway, thanks again for driving Guilmon and Impmon to the camp grounds. I don't know how he could have come otherwise. I mean, Terriermon is small enough to pass for an animal shaped backpack like lots of kids have these days. Calumon can hide just about anywhere".

"That's what friends are for. I trust Impmon didn't give you too much trouble?"

"Not at all... of course we had to endure another one of his rants against digimon who suck up to humans, accusations we were virtually enslaving Terriermon and Guilmon. After that, he went swimming, and seemed to be having as good a time as any of us. That was until that digimon, Shinduramon, showed up".

"That's the one you figure is another Deva?"

"Fits the pattern: either no ident, or the ident is greatly delayed. Damn thing looked like a cross between a chicken and an LNG tank. Strangest thing was the way it used an ordinary owl to do all its talking for it".

"That is weird".

"And that's not all. The owl told all about how this 'god' ate 'the light of man' to grow stronger, and that it intended to grow_ much_ stronger. Henry figured that it was referring to electricity, and so we sent Guilmon and Terriermon on ahead to check it out".

"Doesn't seem like it was very smart, telling you exactly how to defeat it".

"We thought it strange too. I guess this Deva, if that's what it was, was too arrogant to believe it could be defeated, or it didn't know that falling in the lake would short circuit it and blow it to bits?"

"Any problems from, well..."

"Ruki doesn't go to school with us, so she had no way of knowing".

"That's a relief".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Koichi handed the Blue Card to Henry: "Your father's full of it", he explained. "This data definitely isn't 'meaningless'. As for what it actually means, you would need to know for what processor it was coded. Any data can seem 'meaningless'. Ever try playing a data CD on a CD player? It sounds a lot like someone recorded static and burned it to a CD. Of course it would because the data _doesn't_ represent the voltage levels of an audio track. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know".

"That's why I wanted a second opinion. It never made sense that anyone would go to the trouble of making a card, and yet fill it with rubbish. Why not simply leave it blank? I also don't understand how it didn't turn father's card reader into a digivice".

"Perhaps because it's designed to just work with the accessories associated with the game itself? In case someone did what we just did: load it through some other peripheral? As for your father, he obviously saw something he recognized, something he doesn't want you to know about for whatever reason, and he desperately told you such an obvious lie in panic. What I'd like to know is how the hell he did that. These days, very few people, even professionals, ever see raw code anymore. Hell, they hardly ever see assembly, what with high level scripting languages like Python, or mid-level compiled languages like C that do everything assembly does".

"What I'd like to know is how an obviously counterfeit card gets turned into a Blue Card".

"That, Henry, is a helluva good question. If someone could manipulate the quantum state of matter, but that's weirdness from the outer fringes of theoretical physics. Anyone who knew that should be out there claiming their Nobel, not slipping bogus 'Digimon Battle' cards into kids' collections in the off-chance they wind up in the hands of a Tamer, and not the garbage can".

"Doesn't make sense..."

"Henry, I found that things stopped making sense ever since that night I found Renamon crying on my rooftop. I gave up trying. Otherwise, I just might drive myself to drink".

"Yeah... what do you think? Can you give us a lift to the Akihabara?"

"So that's where you tracked it to?"

"Through Kenta, and on back to its original owner. He said that's where it came from: some guy wearing a yellow jacket who deliberately bumped into him, making him drop all his cards, then he dropped that one onto the pile".

"I don't have anything better to do, but I still think you're wasting your time".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Dammit!", Janyu cursed to himself, as he discovered he had forgotten his cell phone. Shortcut through the park, and hopefully, he wouldn't be too late for work...

At a 'T' intersection of paths, from the right came Henry with Terriermon, and Takato without Guilmon. They were discussing when to meet up at Koichi's for the ride to the Akihabara. From the left-hand path, they encountered Impmon, who lived mainly in the park. Being agile digimon, impmon frequently played and slept in trees.

"Hey, hey, whadya say?", Impmon greeted.

Terriermon jumped to the ground: "You again..."

"Yeah, me again. You just got lucky the other day, wanna replay?"

"How about it, Henry, can I kick his ass?"

"Well, Henry?", he still got no reply. Henry was not paying attention. Terriermon looked: "Oh shit!", he thought to himself. Coming down the path towards the intersection was Henry's father, Janyu.

"Is there nothing you can do without asking?", Impmon challenged him. "That's always been your problem, yannow, you lack initiative. What a pathetic excuse for a digimon..."

"Digimon?"

"Huh!", Impmon was caught by surprise.

"You... are a digimon?", Janyu more stated than asked.

"Stay away!", Impmon demanded, as he threw a fireball at Janyu. He used the flimsy briefcase he was carrying to shield himself.

"You... are a real, live digimon!"

"What do you care?", Impmon threw another at him, this time grazing his arm.

"What the _hell _are you doing to Henry's father!", Terriermon demanded, as he stepped between Impmon and Janyu.

"What am _I _doing?!", Impmon repeated back at him. "You idiots! I'll deal with you later", he declared as he turned and ran into the woods.

"You OK?", Takato asked.

"Henry, we have to talk..."

Henry gathered up Terriermon, and ran off. Takato joined him.

"Henry!", Janyu called after them.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"I don't know what I'm gonna do now", Henry was explaining to Takato and Koichi as they walked through the Akihabara. Guilmon and Renamon were accompanying them. Ever since the failure of DATS, a raging digibattle that culminated in the demise of King Yggdrasil, fought right there in the street, meant that there was no hiding digimon anymore. These days, few people hardly raised an eyebrow at the sight of weird critters.

The Akihabara was also an island of quirky individuality in a sea of conformity, in addition to being the home of shops dealing with electronics of all sorts, gamer shops, the quirky studios of Furries, Otaku, artists and artist wannabes. The perfect place for digimon to hide in plain sight.

"It isn't just a family problem now", Takato was saying, "it's everybody's".

"Speak for yourself", Koichi said, "I never bothered hiding Renamon".

"I keep forgetting that", Takato replied.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, and from what Henry's told me, I'm surprised the 'later' didn't come a lot 'sooner'. What with the way Suzy plays with Terriermon, and Henry's being way too old to be playing with animal dolls. It was gonna happen".

"What should I do?"

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out.

"Honesty is the best policy. Just tell him how much Terriermon means to you. If it'll help, send your folks to speak with Dad and Gran, get a fresh perspective..."

"I agree with Koichi", Renamon reassured. "If he knows Henry isn't alone, then, he just might be more accepting".

"I think you worry too much", Guilmon agreed.

"You think that guy'll show up?", Takato asked.

"Could happen", Koichi agreed. "Then, again, we might hit the lottery too. Possible, but I wouldn't count on it".

That's when they all saw it: every TV screen in the windows across the street went blank, all at once.

"This doesn't bode well", Koichi announced.

Terriermon was the first to spot it. This time, the digital field was forming, not on ground level, but above them. It was first in the form of a disk, then two jets formed from opposite sides of the disk. Two 'taurs emerged: one in the form of a ram, and the other, an ox. The ram 'taur landed in the middle of the street, and the ox 'taur landed on a pedestrian overpass. That one jumped to the street.

"Digimon!", Takato announced the obvious.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out.

"Yeah!", he answered.

Both ran towards each other, passed, and stopped at each end of the block. If there was any doubt as to their malicious intent, it was banished as they watched the ram 'taur demolish several cars for no good reason.

"Are these Deva too?", Koichi asked.

Henry ran the idents: the ram 'taur was listed as: Pajiramon. The ox 'taur: Vajiramon. The profiles fit the previous Deva perfectly.

"From here...", the ram 'taur said.

"...To here!", the ox 'taur agreed.

The digital field which had first appeared above them expanded until it covered the entire block. Pajiramon deployed some sort of sonic attack that was painful, and resulted in unconsciousness. The three Tamers nearly fell victim to it too, but Henry had pulled up the profile in time. Even with ears covered, it hurt like hell.

"Which one of these barn yard rejects do you want?", Takato asked Henry.

"I'll take that one", indicating the ram 'taur.

"Then I guess we get to gore the ox", Takato told Guilmon.

"Uhhhhh", was Guilmon's only comment.

"We'll keep an eye out for our little friend", Koichi and Renamon announced.

"Iron Hammer: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card that gave Terriermon a hammer bigger than he was.

"High Speed Plug-in W: digimodify!", Takato scanned his card.

Terriermon bashed Pajiramon in the head, getting in a solid shot, from behind.

Guilmon delivered a powerful kick to Vajiramon.

Neither did any noticeable damage. Terriermon took another whack at Pajiramon, got in another solid hit, but it wasn't good enough. Pajirmon knocked the hammer from his hands, and pinned him to the street under a front hoof.

"You are one of those digimon who have joined forces with the humans?", Pajiramon asked, as if he didn't know the answer.

"I'm Terriermon", he replied as if introducing himself for a social.

"And you?", Vajiramon asked.

"Guilmon"

"Let Terriermon go!", Henry demanded.

"What should we do with them?", Pajiramon asked his compadre.

"We load them so we can evolve to a higher level, what else?"

"Indeed", Pajiramon agreed, as he threw Terriermon upwards, while pulling out a cross bow that fired both bolts and energy bursts.

"You should be glad that I am the one to load your data!"

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... GALGOMON!**

He fired his twin 0.50s, though not fatal, it was sufficient to keep the ram 'taur off balance.

"I assume you evolve too?", Vajiramon challenged Guilmon. He drew one of his swords. "Then show me your evolved form!", he demanded.

"Pyro Sphere!", Guilmon opened up with his main attack.

Vajiramon deflected it with his sword.

"Pyro Sphere!"

Galgomon was keeping Pajiramon well off balance: "Vajiramon! Will you stop playing around and get serious!", he demanded. So far, Galgomon had blown off the tips of his horns. Stop playing with them!"

"It's not worth it", Vajiramon replied, and seemed a good deal less concerned.

"He's fucking with us", Koichi observed.

"Try this card", Takato offered.

"High Speed Plug-in B: digimodify!"

Galgomon moved in for what he thought was a kill, but Pajiramon fired off a seismic attack that knocked Galgomon off his feet. Before he could recover, Pajiramon's bolts had pinned his trousers to the street.

"I'm stuck!"

"Galgomon!"

Guilmon wasn't faring any better, as he couldn't get a Pyro Sphere past Vajiramon's blade.

Pajiramon proceeded to stamp Galgomon out of existence with his front hooves. He was taking quite a beating...

"Defense Plug-in G: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card. This one transformed Galgomon into a granite statue. That helped, but not much, as Galgomon was cracking, and bits and pieces of his stony structure were chipping off.

"Now what do I do?", he asked, getting more worried and desperate.

"Try this one", Takato offered one of his cards...

"Evasion Plug-in P: digimodify!"

That one didn't work at all.

"Dammit! I'm out of ideas and cards!", Henry announced.

"How about that one?", Takato pointed out the Blue Card.

"I'd rather not", Henry said, as he recalled the last disaster he had with one of Terriermon's evolutions, that time in the underground garage.

"Why the hell not?!"

"No telling what could happen", Henry objected.

Pajiramon was loading his crossbow: "Time to finish you off!"

"Henry! It's either use it or lose him!"

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

There was a burst of bright white light that distracted Pajiramon, and then... nothing.

"It doesn't work?", Takato asked. How could that be when they'd both seen that it did work for Koichi.

"Did we fuck it up", Henry asked, "by scanning it?"

Pajiramon was once again aiming his cross bow at Galgomon: "Humph!", he dismissed any concerns for what Henry could do. It would soon be over.

Calumon had seen the whole thing. He projected a bright red beam of light skyward. Another burst of white light illuminated Galgomon, Pajiramon recoiling...

__Matrix Evolution: Galgomon Evolve!_ ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

"He disappeared?", Pajiramon asked himself as his bolts struck nothing but street.

"No I didn't", Rapidmon announced as he delivered a nasty kick to the ram 'taur's head.

He fired energy bolt after energy bolt at the Cyborg type digimon, missing every time. He couldn't track to aim: "Dammit!"

"Rapid Fire!", he shot two RPGs at Pajiramon. Though still not fatal, the explosions threw Pajiramon well off balance.

Vajiramon ignored Guilmon, now that he knew his fellow Deva was in an increasingly desperate way: "Pajiramon!", he called out, "Use the humans as a shield!", he began running towards the scene of the latest battle.

"Golden Triangle!", Rapidmon deployed his main energy attack, easily taking out the ram 'taur.

"Koyosetsu!", Renamon attacked Icedevimon as soon as they arrived. Once again, he dodged that attack.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

I_cedevimon Evolve! ..._

**... MYOTISMON!**

"Night Raid!", Rapidmon was unexpectedly attacked, as he was taking aim at Vajiramon. "Data Crusher!", he combined attacks. Rapidmon dropped from the sky, de-digivolving to Terriermon on the way down.

"Get him! Finish him!", Ruki ordered.

"Not now!", Vajiramon commanded. "Get away!", he countermanded Ruki's order. "We can always take care of them later. I still have a job to do here".

"I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner", Ruki apologized, "to save your companion".

"He's not important. He would have deleted that annoying little digimon if he hadn't wasted his time running his mouth instead of firing his weapon. His own damn fault".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Thanks for helping me out", Janyu told Terriermon, as he entered Henry's bedroom.

"That's OK", Terriermon replied.

"I should have said something sooner", Henry apologized. "Now that our secret is out, it's a relief. You aren't gonna do anything..."

"Don't worry about that, son. You aren't the only one who's been holding onto secrets. I have a confession of my own", he explained.

"It was about twenty years ago", he began, "when I was still in college. I was part of a group of enthusiastic young comp-sci students. There had always been plenty of research into AI, but we wanted to take that concept further. What we had in mind was artificial life. We would create virtual creatures, give them the 'Law of the Jungle': survival of the fittest, and the ability to evolve.

It was an Open Source project that anyone with an interest to contribute code. At first, we had some high hopes, including a sizable grant, to further our work. Unfortunately, the grant never came through. Being that we had to attend to the business of establishing our careers, start families, our ability to pursue our initial project decreased. Gradually, without leadership, our other contributors lost interest.

Since our code was freely available - anyone could use it - a video game company eventually picked it up, and developed Digimon from our initial project. They survived as the video game characters you play with. From our work came a fantasy for children all over the world..."

"I'd hardly call myself a 'fantasy'", Terriermon objected.

"That's the thing: you see, the imperative to evolve remained. It was an integral part of the project, and so digimon kept on evolving... all the way to the point of self-awareness. There is one other thing that's been bothering me: that Blue Card - how did Shibumi's code get on it..."

"Shibumi?", Henry asked.

"A nickname for one of my former colleagues. He was most disappointed when he heard of the cancellation of the project. Did most of the development; no lack of wild ideas, that one".

"And how do you recognize raw code? How do you know?"

"Back in those days, we often had to code in assembly. It was all so new. Sometimes we had to load the program, or parts of it, by setting each and every bit by hand. Believe me, it wasn't easy, and that makes it hard to forget. What was on that Blue Card definitely came from Shibumi, but who could be using it now?"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Takato and Guilmon were on their way back to the park. Vajiramon suddenly leaped onto the sidewalk, saying nothing, just pointing at Guilmon.

"What do you think you're doing?", Takato asked him.

"He just wants to talk", Guilmon explained, as he made to leave with Vajiramon.

"That's right", Vajiramon agreed.

"Talk about what?", Takato asked.

"None of your damn business, human! The kind of things only digimon can understand".

"Guilmon?"

"I want to know more about myself, my kind, and my world", Guilmon replied. "I promise, I'll be back".

"Back? When?!"

"When I have my answers", Guilmon told Takato. "Guide me", he requested of Vajrimon, as the two walked off into the distance.

"Things only digimon can understand?", Takato asked himself, as he stood in the now vacant street.


	9. Guilmon's Revelation

**8) Guilmon's Revelation**

"What do you mean: he just walked off?", Henry asked.

"It's like I said, Guilmon went off with that Deva, who was saying it was something only digimon can understand. I never thought he would do anything like that. Abandon me".

Takato was describing what had happened the previous evening.

"I'm sure he had his reasons. You trust him, don't you? If he was going to attack, I think he would have done that last night, so I don't believe Guilmon's in any immediate danger".

"Yeah, but_ what_ could that mean: 'only digimon can understand'?"

"No idea, but if Guilmon promised he'd be back, then he will be back. Then he'll tell us".

"What if they don't let him go?"

"This is Guilmon we're talking about. He'd move heaven and earth to return. He's pretty resourceful, yannow".

"I suppose... Any way to track him?"

"It's a big Digital World, assuming he went to the Digital World at all. We may just have to wait for that Deva to return... I wonder what these Deva are?".

"All I know is he isn't showing up on the direction finder".

"He could also be out of range, here in the Material World".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Feeling a bit down?", Koichi asked Renamon.

"It's nothing".

"Worried about Guilmon?"

"Yeah"

"I think we all are. That was definitely strange. I wonder why that Deva was so interested in Guilmon?"

"No idea".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Koichi and Renamon arrived at the site of a developing digital field in time to meet the new arrival and his Tamer.

"Who're you?!"

"Never mind that, take yourself and your digimon and get the hell out of here!"

"I don't..."

"Ruki!", Koichi challenged, "you are _not_ going to interfere this time! You deleted your last partnered digimon".

"Frost Claw!", Icedevimon attacked, but this time, Renamon was expecting that.

"Koyousetsu!", she struck back. It was enough to distract Icedevimon, but little more.

Ruki was reaching for a card: "Koyousetsu!", Renamon sent a well aimed crystal to knock both digivice and card from her hands.

"Damn you!", she screamed as she grabbed a slight cut to the hand. "Damn you to hell!"

"You get the hell out of here, or I'll finish the job Galgomon started the other day. Capice?!"

"C'mon, let's go. He isn't worth it", Ruki conceded defeat.

"What was that all about?", this new Tamer, and his partner, Dorumon, asked.

"She's nuts. She and her partner attack every partnered digimon who arrives here. She's deleted a half dozen that I know of already, and how many more I do not know. You would be well advised to go now, before she changes her mind".

"I thought I recognized her, isn't she the Digimon Queen?"

"Yeah, and she intends to remain the 'Digimon Queen'. She still thinks it's just an elaborate game, and she doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone but herself. She is someone to avoid".

"I'll do that, and thanks".

"Thanks", Dorumon agreed.

"You two take care".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Takato was up in his room, doodling a picture of Guilmon: "Are you ever coming back?", he asked to the otherwise empty room. He was supposedly doing homework, but lately found it difficult to concentrate on that.

"Takato!", it was his mother calling.

"Coming!", he called back. He didn't need this right now.

"Yes?", he asked as he stepped off the landing.

"Finish your homework?", she asked.

"Yeah", he lied.

"Then could you help with the family business?"

"Takato!", his father called this time.

"Yes?"

"I need some change, please".

"Coming right up", Takato went to fetch another roll of coins from the safe. "Here ya go", as he handed over the roll. He did not recognize the woman at the counter as a Hypnos employee, but she sure did recognize him.

"Takato, could you take care of these trays?", his mother requested. He took a stack of empty display trays to wash and dry for tomorrow's products. Tomorrow would be another day. Another Guilmon-less day.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_Hypnos_

The klaxons went off: "An unusual amount of data is gathering".

"Wild one?", Yamaki asked as he clicked his Zippo.

"A big one", Riley confirmed, "the digital signature matches one of the ones that materialized in the Akihabara day before yesterday. It's materializing quickly"

"Do you have the location?"

"National Baseball Stadium".

"You Wild Ones come and go as you please, wreaking havoc in our world", Yamaki threatened to no one in particular, "but no longer!"

"Henry", Terriermon called out, as he was looking out the window, "It's coming. I think it's the same one Guilmon was with".

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure".

"Let's go". Terriermon jumped onto Henry's shoulder, but he hesitated.

"Something wrong?"

"Better call Takato and Koichi, let them know".

"Takato! Phone call!", his mother called out.

"Hello... Henry? ..."

"You think so? ..."

"OK, your place, Koichi will drive? Good. See you shortly".

"Who was that?"

"Gotta run".

"This time of night?"

Takato was already out the back door.

Koichi and Renamon were already waiting for him by the time he'd arrived at Henry's apartment tower.

Renamon had also sensed it, and gave directions.

"Will we find Guilmon there?", Takato asked anxiously.

"I believe we will", Renamon confirmed.

Koichi turned into the parking lot, and saw that the digital field was large and growing. "This is as far as we go", he announced. The "fog" too thick to see to drive, as he stopped as close to the stadium as he could.

They made their way to the deserted turnstiles leading to the stands. They entered the stands across the field from where Guilmon stood, at the railing just above the field. Vajiramon was standing on the field itself.

"Let's go!", Terriermon called out.

"Wait", Renamon told him, "it looks like they're just talking".

"Can you hear them?", Koichi asked...

"Of course", she replied.

"Guilmon: you have been especially blessed. You, like me, are a unique digimon. You, like me, have been marked by our God for greatness. Our God has descended on this world", the ox 'taur was explaining. "You shall serve our God with me, and follow his Holy Law, then you shall prosper thanks to his power".

"Go on, tell me more".

"Only you are worthy of our God".

"Nice of you to say so", Vajiramon didn't get the sarcasm.

"Guilmon, our God is a God for us digimon. We were once data created by humans, but now we have our own will".

"Human created data?"

"Digimon live to serve our God, and to evolve. Humans abandoned us, that's true. Remember, before the coming of self-awareness, we were just simple programs running on the 'Net"

"The digimons' God?", Takato asked, "didn't that other digimon we fought mention something about a 'God'?"

"You know anything about that, Renamon?", Henry asked.

"Not really. The Digital World government is a federated monarchy, not a theocracy".

"You, Terriermon?"

"I don't know any more than Renamon does. We left about the same time, I believe".

"Culu? What's goin' on, culu?", Calumon asked as he landed on the railing beside Guilmon.

"Who are you?", Vajiramon asked. "Another one of those digimon who sold themselves into bondage to humans?"

"Calumon!", Takato called out, pointing.

Calumon jumped to the ground, just in front of the ox 'taur many times his size.

"I don't know of such things, culu?", he replied.

"Don't interrupt me!", Vajiramon then kicked him.

"That wasn't very nice", Koichi said. "Pick on somebody your own size!", he called out.

"We have to do something!", Terriermon said.

Calumon, though small, was fast and stayed well ahead of the ox 'taur as he chased him across the field. The question was, how long could he keep up that pace?

"That's it! He's gone too far! Renamon?"

"Right"

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!" Once again, she transported them around the ox 'taur instead of using them as projectiles. They exploded all around him, and, at first, they all thought he was going to delete. Vajiramon whipped out his swords, slashed at the foxfire, and dispersed it, unharmed.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out.

"Ready when you are".

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... GALGOMON!**

He opened up with his 0.50s. Vajiramon defended himself by crossing his arms over his head and torso. The bullets glanced off his armour, doing no harm.

"I will destroy the both of you for that!", he threatened, as he advanced towards Galgomon and Kyuubimon.

"Pyro Sphere!", Guilmon fired. Vajiramon deflected the fire ball. At least the fight was temporarily suspended, and at least Vajiramon had forgotten all about Calumon.

"Guilmon! I have no desire to fight you!"

"I am one of those digimon who evolve with his partner!"

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Guilmon Evolve! ..._

**... GROWLMON!**

"Growlmon, so you do evolve, too? We shall not fight, and you shall come with me".

"Not too damn likely", then he slashed at Vajiramon with the blade attached to his wrist. Vajiramon deflected it, throwing Growlmon back, but unharmed.

"Exhaust Flame!"

Vajiramon crossed his swords, sweeping them outwards, launching an energy burst that split and deflected this attack.

"Growlmon! Stop fighting me! It is your fate to live with us. To evolve with us!"

"Very scary, culu?", Calumon had joined Henry and Takato.

"Kyuubimon! Help Growlmon! ... High Speed Plug-in H: digimodify!"

"Foxfire Dragon!", she attacked, and Vajiramon parried with his swords.

He began chasing Kyuubimon.

"Power Boost Plug-in O: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card.

"Dum-dum Upper!", Galgomon attacked with all barrels firing. Again, it had no effect, and Vajiramon slammed him so hard he ran into Kyuubimon, knocking her off her feet.

"He's too strong!", Henry pointed out. "Galgomon! Can you evolve?", he asked.

"I don't think so. I'm almost out of energy".

"High Speed Plug-in D: digimodify!", Koichi tried that card. It has little effect, just barely getting the kitsune to her feet.

"I don't think I can do it, Koichi".

"Stop!", Vajiramon commanded, as he sheathed his swords in a show of good faith. "I have had enough of this fighting you. Growlmon! Hear my words!"

Growlmon took another swing at him with his blade, and Vajiramon dodged, and pushed him aside.

"You give me no choice!" he announced, as he drew his swords. "I will _make_ you understand!" He took two swings at Growlmon which he knew would be dodged.

"Growlmon!", Takato called out.

"Growlmon, you are mistaken", Vajiramon continued making his case. "You are a _digimon!_" He took another slash with one sword. "You will share your life with other digimon only!", as he unleashed an energy attack. It could easily have been lethal, but fell short. Still powerful enough to knock him down.

"Growlmon!", Takato called out as he reached for a card. The one he thought he picked wasn't the one he now held. Takato had received his second Blue Card.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Growlmon Evolve! ..._

**... MEGALOGROWLMON!**

"You are mistaken, you evolve the wrong way! You should evolve on your own, not with human intervention!"

"Who decides that for me? Not you, and most definitely not your God!"

"Why do you refuse to understand?! Who do you think you are to go against the will of our God?!"

"You have given me all the answers I was after; I thank you for that".

"Then, in the name of our God, you die!"

Vajiramon swept his swords, this time, generating an energy burst that was both lethal and on target. Megalogrowlmon escaped as he fired his rocket packs, lifting himself above the path of the on coming burst.

He threw both swords at Megagrowlmon, this time striking the wall directly behind him, this time, forming a powerful blast. Again, Megalogrowlmon was fast enough to get away from the immediate danger. He charged his main weapon.

"Atomic Blaster!"

The twin red beams struck the ox 'taur, deleting him instantly.

"It's over, culu?!", Calumon celebrated.

He wasn't the only one to notice. "They are the only ones who can get rid of Wild Ones", Yamaki observed. Hypnos had monitored Growlmon's digivolution, and Yamaki figured it was Takato and friends.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Guilmon was telling the others what he'd learned after devolving. This was becoming easier for him to do.

"Eighty percent of what Vajiramon told me was nothing but pure, unadulterated bullshit. Ten percent incomprehensible nonsense, riddles mostly. As for the remaining ten percent, it would seem that one of the Digimon Sovereign has gone way off the deep end..."

"Do you know who?", Renamon asked.

"He never said, but it's definitely one of them. Some disagreement among the Sovereign, I guess, and he doesn't accept the rulings of the other three. Vajiramon didn't say what the disagreement was about, and it's unlikely he even knew anyway. He's declared himself 'God'..."

"What does it mean?", Koichi asked, before Henry could.

"It would seem we have another 'Cherubimon' (finger quotes) on our hands", Renamon explained.

"Shit!", Terriermon exclaimed.

"What does it mean?", Guilmon asked.

"At the dawn of self-awareness, the whole Digital World was in a state of chaos. Constant wars between anthroform and zooform digimon. This threatened our very existence.

Then came an enlightened law giver who worked out a mutually agreeable _modus vivendi_ between the anthroform and zooform digimon that put an end to the wars: Lucemon. Even though he resisted the idea, he was proclaimed the emperor of the Digital World. There was peace, development, and the prosperity it brings. That lasted until Lucemon grew drunk with the power he was given, but which he never sought.

Lucemon's reign grew ever more tyrannical. It was at this time that Ten Legendary Warriors arose, overthrew Lucemon. It was decided that divided power would be better, and so from among their ranks, they chose three: Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon to rule as a triumvirate.

This arrangement worked until one of their colleagues, Cherubimon, grew ever more paranoid. Eventually, he overthrew Seraphimon and Ophanimon and became the sole dictator over the Digital World. That was the first time the Digital World reached out to the Material World. Five young Outworlders answered Lady Ophanimon's call, and with the power of the five Legendary Warriors who had not been corrupted, they deposed Cherubimon.

The resulting power vacuum led to the rise of King Yggdrasil, who was eventually overthrown by his own Praetorian Guard: the Royal Knights. That was the first time Digital World troubles spilled over and into the Material World. Part of that battle was fought in the streets of Tokyo itself.

After that, it was decided that a federated monarchy just might prove the best way to prevent the rise of another tyrant. The Digital World was split into four spheres of influence, much like Material World nation-states. One ruled by a Sovereign: Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, Zhuqiaomon, and Baihumon: the Digimon Sovereign or Holy Beasts. They have a pact of noninterference between themselves. It was believed that this arrangement would keep any one from becoming too powerful, and a threat to the other three.

If what Vajiramon was saying is truthful, it would seem that hope was in vain. Now it would seem we are threatened, not just with a rising autocrat, but a theocrat as well..."

"Would that account for Yamaki's 'Wild Ones', are digimon deciding it's best to get out of Dodge while the gettin's good?", Koichi asked.

"It might, it very well might", Renamon speculated.

"Then _why_ don't they kick his ass?!", Koichi asked.

"The noninterference pact..."

"Is beginning to sound a lot like a suicide pact".

"It would seem so, however, you're forgetting that digimon in the Digital World can't evolve. As you have surmised, the digientelechia has been removed to the Material World. That would be one good way to prevent this rogue Sovereign from building an army that can threaten the other three Holy Beasts. That is no violation of noninterference, yet slows down the attempt at a take-over.

It would also give digimon an incentive to cross-over, if they knew evolution was still possible here in the Material World".

"So what you're saying is that the remaining three Holy Beasts who haven't lost their sanity are preparing for a fight here? Or are they going to recall all you guys all at once to fight there?"

"Now that, I do not know".


	10. A Horse of a Different Colour

**9) A Horse of a Different Colour**

Calumon had been intercepted at a water fountain in the park. Three girls, maybe twelve or thirteen, stood around, admiring him.

"What do you suppose this is?", one asked.

"No idea...", another answered.

"Why do all of you look so strange, culu?"

Calumon didn't understand about girls in their early teen years, the dressing the same, the same make-up, always applied more heavily than needed. Their need to "fit in" that made their desire to "stand out" the epitome of conformity.

"And it talks! That makes it even cuter!", another one exclaimed.

"Like totally!", yet another agreed.

"Why do you talk so weird, culu?"

"Will you _ever _stop sucking up to the Outworlders?!". It was Impmon, standing at the top of a slide, beginning another one of his rants. "What happened to your pride?", he asked.

The girls turned to look: "It's another one of those things".

"Yeah, but this one isn't the least bit cute".

"Rather ugly, I'd say", another agreed.

"Totally!"

"What's his problem, anyway?"

"Totally!"

"'Totally, totally, totally': hellsamatter with all of you? You can't even speak properly, let alone say anything the _least_ bit intelligent!"

With that, Impmon did a back flip, landing on the hand railing behind him, flicked up a fireball. He threw it at the girls' feet, where it exploded like a firecracker. The girls ran off, as Impmon laughed.

"That'll show 'em not to mess with me!", he declared.

"Culu?", Calumon looked on.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Henry and Terriermon were on the subway, on their way to Henry's lesson. He sat there, thinking: "What does that mean, Deva?"

At the dojo, he was demonstrating his latest moves for Cho-sensei, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Josef Stalin. He kicked, he threw punches, and slashed with his hands. Cho simply side-stepped every kick and thrust.

Finally, he caught Henry off balance, and pushed him to the mat with nothing more than a forefinger to Henry's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Sensei", Henry bowed in defeat.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself. You seem unusually distracted today, not up to your usual standards. Come, share tea with me and tell me all about it".

"Deva?", Cho asked.

"You know anything about that?"

"'Deva' is a Sanskrit word. It means something like 'holy spirit' or 'god'. In Hindu mythology, the Deva are the holy spirits who fight the Asura: demons who bring misfortune". Cho sipped his tea.

"So the Deva are good guys?", Henry had to force himself to not seem surprised at hearing that.

"The Asura are the enemies for the Deva, that is true, however, for the followers of the Asura, it is the Deva who are evil. In other words, good and evil aren't absolute. When the point of view changes, so does everything else. I hope I've been of some help?"

"Yes", Henry agreed vocally, "thank you very much".

"What unmitigated bullshit!", he thought to himself.

The answer really meant nothing. Hindu gods and myths of demons who brought misfortune had nothing to do with digimon. And there was _nothing _good about these new 'Deva'. They were malicious, destructive, and no possible change of any point of view could ever change that.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Will you stop following me!", Impmon complained to Calumon. He was traveling in his usual method: jumping from one roof top to the next.

"Hop some more, culu?", Calumon requested.

"Why are you being such a pest today?", Impmon asked.

"I want to see if you scare some more girls, culu?"

"Those girls had it coming!", Impmon was saying. That's when he heard it: laughter coming from the digital field that was forming in the parking lot just below the building upon which they stood.

"Who's that?!", Impmon asked, just before jumping into the mist, disappearing from Calumon's sight. He landed on the roof of a parked car, continuing his leap to the ground.

"Are you laughing at me?!", Impmon demanded of the anthroequine that towered over him, four, maybe five times his height. He was wearing yellow body armour, with a red ribbon tie around his neck, and an enormous yellow horn strapped to his back. His body was covered in short fur nearly the same color as Impmon's purple fur. The head with long, platinum blond hair, long tail the same color.

"What else can I do but laugh at you? You are the same..."

"Huh?", Impmon asked.

"The same as all the other fools"

"What did you just say?", Impmon demanded.

"All digimon who once lived with humans carry the same stench"

"Uhhhh!", his eyes widened, as he recalled that last fight he had with his former Tamers, the five year old twin boy and girl, Mako and Ai. Impmon shook his head vigorously to clear that memory.

"If you lived with the Outworlders, then why haven't you evolved like the others?", the anthro-horse taunted him.

"Nunya f'kin' business! Asshole!"

Renamon and Koichi were just arriving. Renamon joined Impmon, standing by his side, as Koichi tried running an ident. Once again, his digivice seemed stuck on "Seek", displaying nothing. It was becoming too much of a familiar pattern: "C'mon, c'mon" he urged.

Finally the data arrived:

_Indaramon_

_Ultimate, Virus_

_Holy Beast Digimon_

_His Horn of Desolation isn't something you want to hear._

His worst suspicion confirmed: another Deva. Another malicious digimon.

"No evolution should be taking place in the Material World", Indaramon announced. "Your very existence can not be tolerated. Remember that", he threatened. With that, Indaramon and the digital field disappeared.

"Why did you come?!", Impmon raged. "I could have handled that dipshit all by myself!"

"You _can't_ possibly be serious?", Koichi told him.

"You are nowhere near strong enough to take on a Deva", Renamon agreed. "Especially when you can't digivolve".

"What's with you!", Impmon accused, as he pointed at Renamon. "You all underestimate me because I can't digivolve! I'm strong enough without having to digivolve! I'm different! I'm tough! I don't have to co-operate with Outworlders!"

With that, Impmon jumped onto the roof of a car, then over a chain link fence, and out of sight.

"With an attitude like that, he is so going to get the shit beat out of him", Koichi observed. "Might as well go, nothing left for us to do". Renamon paused, still looking off in the direction where Impmon had disappeared.

"You go on ahead", Renamon told him, "I'm gonna keep an eye out for him".

"If you're sure... I wonder if it isn't a lost cause".

"I hope not... for Impmon's sake".

_Hypnos_

Yamaki was clicking his lighter again, oblivious as to how annoying this habit was to his staff.

"I want you to monitor all communications coming from the Digital World".

"Yes, sir. Preparing to monitor... Got something... Putting it on the screen"

Yamaki watched the screen as it filled with ones 'n' zeros. It was plain text ASCII.

"We are the Deva", it said.

Yamaki kicked over a chair, startling his operators.

"They think this is a game to them!", he raged.

Then he had an inspiration: "Of course all they know is the languages they learned. Well they are about to find out just how far humanity has come from those days", he announced to himself.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Impmon stood on top of a sound barrier. Below him, traffic was so jammed, nothing was moving. He was still in a snit over what Renamon had told him. He jumped onto the roof of the nearest car, smashing it in.

"If they think a Deva is tough, wait till they get a load of me!", he declared as he jumped from one car roof to the next, denting the roofs.

"_No one_... will ever... call me... weak again!"

He stood on the roof of the last car, at an intersection. A little girl was eating an ice cream cone. He'd smashed in the roofs of nearly a dozen cars.

"That looks tasty", he said, as he leaped into the intersection.

"Thanks", he said, as he took the ice cream out of the girl's hand and swallowed it in one gulp. The girl started crying.

"Why did you take it from her?", her father demanded.

"Do you know who you are addressing?", he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, as he threw a fireball at the man, grazing his arm.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!", he complained, as he grabbed his arm.

This attracted much attention from the other people waiting to cross.

"What the fuck are you all staring at?!", Impmon demanded.

"Night of Fire!", he threw six fireballs over their heads. Everyone was running, screaming. Just then, something moving very fast swept Impmon from the scene.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Here goes!", Juri announced before giving the can they'd recovered from a trash bin a good kick. She, Takato, Kenta, and Kazu ran off in different directions. It was Guilmon's turn to recover the can before coming to find the others.

Unexpectedly, a rather odd boy ran past Takato and Kazu. The dress odd: light gray jumpsuit over yellow T-shirt, bright red cap, purple ascot with color co-ordinated wrist bands, brown leather boots. He wore a strange necklace with a large, round crystal hanging from it.

He sat on the ground, just looking off into the distance at nothing in particular, or, perhaps, at something only he could see.

("Found you, Juri")

"Friend of yours?", Kazu asked.

"I thought he might be a friend of _yours_; I never saw him before now".

("Found you, Kenta")

"Definitely something a bit off about him", Kazu observed.

He stood, just as Guilmon was appearing: "Where...", he called out. Then he noticed:

"Who're you?", he asked.

The strange boy, Guilmon, and the others, just looked at each other. The boy saying nothing.

"Mah!", he finally called out, then stood there, laughing at the reaction he had gotten.

"That was... unusual", Takato said.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Renamon had taken Impmon to the plywood cage that had been installed under an overpass for the scraping and repainting of the under structure.

"Let me go this instant!", Impmon demanded, as Renamon had him by his bandanna.

"Why are you so obsessed with strength?", she asked.

"Shut up! You can't order me around!", he complained. "You're just some stupid digimon who can't even evolve without a partner".

"And you can?", she asked. "You can evolve without a partner? Do tell", she asked with appropriate sarcasm. "I believe evolution depends on how digimon fight alongside their partners. That's why..."

"Partner this, and partner that!", Impmon continued complaining. "Shut up about 'partner'!", he demanded. "Even if I can't digivolve... even if I don't have a partner, I'll become stronger!"

"Could it be that you had a partner once?"

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, Impmon stopped struggling.

"_What _did you just say?", he asked.

"Did you have a partner?", Renamon asked again.

"How... how did you know?", he asked as she released him.

"I didn't... just a guess".

"_He_ knew!"

"Who..."

"The Purple Pony! Who do you think?! He mentioned it _specifically_!"

Renamon stood there, a questioning look on her face.

"We're being played here, Renamon", Impmon shook his head. "No way in _hell _could he have known that... unless someone told him".

"Who?"

"I don't know! Whoever he's working for, that's who. Something's going on, and it's beginning to stink like week old fish..."

Renamon seemed distracted, as she was looking outside. He joined her. A block away, the digital field was already forming, people running, police directing people away from the area.

"Don't!", Impmon said. "Get to Koichi; get to the others. Tell them to stay away..."

"_Why?"_, Renamon asked.

"Because that's what he wants! He wants a fight and you'll be playing right into his plans!" Impmon's instincts, developed during his time with the Violet Zone Air Defense Corps, had kicked in. "Get to them; tell them. You have to".

"I don't know..."

"There isn't much time, you have to get to them first, tell them _not_ to fight Indaramon".

"If you're sure..."

"I know I'm right: you have to take a pass on this battle".

Renamon took off, using that "teleportation" ability of hers.

"You arrived just in time", Koichi said.

"We're not fighting", Renamon told him.

"You're just gonna abandon Takato and Henry?", he asked. "That's not like you".

"No, that's not what I mean...". she filled him in on everything Impmon had told her.

"Can you trust his judgement?", he asked.

"This time, I do. What Impmon said makes a good deal of sense. We have to warn the others..."

Indaramon, Icedevimon, and Ruki stood in the street: "Where are they?", Indaramon asked.

"Maybe they chickened out?", Ruki speculated. "I knew they didn't have the balls. Wreck some shit: that'll get their attention..."

She stopped, as she saw what looked like Indaramon's beginning to phase out.

"What..."

_Hypnos_

"Output at 40%... 50%..."

Shaggai's digital warp fields were being targeted on Indaramon. Yamaki seemed pleased, so far.

"60%..."

Something overloaded, then a circuit breaker tripped with a sound like a gunshot. Indaramon decided that this was a good time to leave.

"Chief", came a call from the control room above them, "the Wild One has disappeared".

"Excellent", Yamaki said, "even if it's not perfect, it still works".

"He's... gone?", Ruki asked Icedevimon.

"Coward", Icedevimon dismissed the Deva.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Kenta and Kazu were taking their leave: "Bye-bye", Guilmon waved, as he usually did. Juri stayed behind.

"Hey, Takato", she began, "you seem a bit sad today?", she asked.

"I don't think so".

"Then a bit preoccupied? Are you worried about something?"

"Is that so... I don't think I am"

"Really?"

He nodded: "I guess I was wrong", she apologized. "We'll play again, soon", she said as she rubbed his snout, "Guilmon".

"We'll see you".

"Goodbye"

"Goodbye"

Juri ran off.

"The Deva...", Takato said to himself with a sigh. "I wonder if Guilmon will evolve and become stronger as more and more enemies appear", he said to himself.

**The Digital World**

"How is it that you have failed me, Indaramon?"

"My Lord, I followed the plan..."

"A simple assignment: turn Impmon against the traitors and the human devils. My sources inform me the job was 90% complete already. How could you fuck this up?"

"My Lord, I materialized right in front of Impmon. I laughed at him, as we know he hates being laughed at. I ridiculed his weakness and inability to digivolve since we know he resents his Rookie weakness. It was all going according to plan. I had him so beside himself with rage he couldn't see straight. I called him a fool for being just like the rest of the traitors..."

Indaramon recognized his big mistake.

"Go on..."

"I said he was like the other traitors who entered servitude to the humans..."

"Do you realize what you have done?!"

"M-m-m-m-my L-l-l-l-lord... a second chance! If I go back, try again, I can..."

"You know how I regard failure, Indaramon?"

"My Lord! Please! Another chance! I won't fail you..."

"I gave you life, and I can take it"

"No! Please! NOOOOOOO!"

Indaramon was deleted.

"My Lord, if I may?"

"Yes, Catsuramon, what is it you want?"

"There is an alternative. It will require something unconventional, something you may not like..."

"Go on..."

Catsuramon laid out the plan.

"I quite agree: most unconventional. Do you believe you can pull it off?"

"Yes, My Lord, I will succeed where he failed".

"See that you do".


	11. The Wild Bunch Reunited

**10) The Wild Bunch Reunited**

"Hey, Dad, why are you still here?", Henry asked. He expected his father, Janyu, to have left already, as he usually did every workday morning.

"I'll be working in a new department, I've been transferred, and will be working closer to home".

"Well, I'm off, and good luck with the new gig", Henry said.

"To be young again", Janyu thought. "Playing is a kid's job", he announced to himself.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Guilmon bread?", Takehero Matsuki asked the visor wearing friend of his son's.

"Yeah, it would be a big seller!", Kenta encouraged.

"What, exactly, is this Guilmon bread?"

"You know, bread or buns shaped like Guilmon..."

"Guys! We have to be going!", Takato had heard part of what they were saying, horrified. He hustled them out of the bakery, leaving his father wondering what was up with these kids.

"Would you please shut up about that!", Takato reprimanded his friends.

"You mean you haven't told your parents?"

"How do you suppose I'd explain Guilmon to them? So, no, I _haven't _told them. I would appreciate it very much if you didn't either".

"That has to be tough", Kenta observed.

"Yeah...", Takato agreed. It would be so much nicer, being older like Koichi, having Koichi's courage and/or understanding parents who accepted Renamon right off. He couldn't imagine his parents being the same. After all, they ran a bakery. This is why Takato never had a pet. They couldn't keep any animals because of Board of Health regulations.

"Look at what I have", Kazu said to change the subject. He pulled something from a pocket: "A Blue Card", he announced. It was just a piece of thin cardboard, coloured blue with a Sharpie, and a crude illustration on the front. "I made it just like you described".

"Uhhhh... that's... close", Takato lied.

"I figure that with these more powerful digimon, you can use all the help you can get", Kazu explained.

"We'd like to join your fight", Kenta said.

"Show me your digivice?", Kazu requested.

"Uhhhh...", Takato said as he took it out. He was just about to hand it over when that strange boy from the park suddenly appeared, lunged for Takato's digivice, and nearly took it. He ran off, laughing.

"Him again...", Kazu said.

"What's that all about?", Kenta asked.

"No idea...", Takato said, but he was beginning to suspect that this new character, whomsoever he might be, wasn't what he appeared to be.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Janyu Wong has been kept waiting in a lecture hall. He'd been there, getting nothing more than the corporate run-around, instead of the explication of his new duties as a new addition to the staff.

"Oh well", he announced to the empty lecture hall, "at least they serve good food", as he set aside the empty tray.

"Can I get you anything else?", some secretary or other low level worker asked politely. "We apologize for the long wait".

"Nothing, thank you", Janyu replied. He could drink only so much ice tea and soda.

Janyu decided he'd had enough. He could either keep waiting for who knows how long, go home, or take the initiative. He was beginning to wonder if this wasn't some sort of test. What kind of test, though? Was he supposed to wait? Was he supposed to go looking for some explanation on his own? Had he already flunked the test, or was he about to?

He stepped into the hall, seeing no one, which he thought very odd. He saw some folks wearing lab coats headed down an intersecting corridor, and decided to follow them, see where they led him, possibly to find someone, anyone, who could either explain his new position, or direct him to someone who could.

"What's this?!", he asked himself as he stepped into a room filled with all sorts of strange equipment.

"A project of the government, though we lease the building from the Tokyo city government", a blond-haired, sunglass-earing, dark-suited man answered his rhetorical question. "Mitsou Yamaki", he introduced himself.

"A kind of artificial life appears from the networks", Yamaki was explaining, "which we call 'Wild Ones'. As they materialize here, a sort of mist appears, formed from particles that interact with Earth's natural electromagnetic fields. Following the Wild One's data, it configures itself into virtual protein that gives the Wild One a physical form".

"I never would have imagined it" Janyu said, though Yamaki didn't know if he was referring to his description of how digimon appear as physical beings, or to the impressive line-up of equipment Yamaki had acquired.

All the while, Yamaki had been leading him towards the elevators leading to the subbasement of the building that served as the HQ of Hypnos. Down there, they entered a rather cramped room.

"Tao?!", a man with reddish hair exclaimed in an American accent.

"D... Dolphin?", Janyu asked.

"That's right".

"I... hardly recognized you. You've changed a lot", Janyu replied.

"You haven't changed much Tao... Maybe a bit grayer, though".

"Daisy? Curly? Babel?", Janyu asked, surprised.

"So, haven't you made us wait long enough?", the woman with short, blond hair known by the nickname "Daisy" asked. "While I'm glad to see the Wild Bunch back together, what is it, exactly, that you want us to do?"

"And Shibumi?", Janyu asked.

"All we know is that he is somewhere in Japan, but we haven't been able to locate and contact him so far", Yamaki explained. "I will answer all your questions".

"It was Shibumi", Janyu said, "he always said that he believed our virtual life project would create digital beings who would attain self-awareness, and that, some day, they would appear here in the Material World in fully physical form. He believed that they might one day replace the human race with a smarter, more benevolent, intelligence... We never believed a word he said. Shibumi was... strange", he paused as he recalled.

"We all thought it impossible for our Digital Monsters to ever do that. Even if he was right, and they became much more than we originally intended, even to the point of self-awareness, how can any virtual life, regardless of how intelligent, exist apart from the systems that support that existence?"

"All of you were young and idealistic, with high hopes for artificial intelligence. I doubt you could even imagine a situation like this, let alone actually desire to bring it to pass. The Law of Unintended Consequences: there was no way for you to anticipate what would happen, or the rate of the advance of digital technology. Your work was done during a time when a Pentium I at 100 megahertz was blazing fast, a one-gig hard drive standard, and most back-ups done on three inch floppies. I don't hold you responsible for this".

"So what kind of power...", Janyu began to ask.

"I don't know myself, other than the digimon consider it to be their 'god'".

"The digimons'... god?"

"So it would seem".

"God... god?", Janyu asked. "Technically, the digital monsters should only exist in the network's application area, same as any other program. In order for them to exist in the Material World, there must be some kind of extraordinary power. Could it, well, be God?"

"I don't know, and now you're going all philosophical on me. That is of no interest to me, and it shouldn't be for you either. We have a problem, a technical problem, to solve. Nothing more, nothing less: is that clear?"

"Yes, sir... what is it that you want us to do?"

"Develop the means to destroy any virtual life that poses a threat to the Material World and human life. And that person who was part of your team holds the key". Yamaki meant that literally, as Shibumi had encrypted all of his notes and code.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Your father is working for who?", Koichi asked Henry.

"He was transferred to here: Hypnos headquarters. He and all his old colleagues, save for Shibumi, are working for Yamaki. That's all he'd tell me".

"I see... this can't be anything good, knowing Yamaki. How is it that he would do that? Doesn't he have any idea what that asshole is really like? Didn't you tell him about how he attacked you?"

"I didn't tell... I didn't think it was important at the time. Maybe I should..."

"Too late for that now. It would look way too suspicious, even if he believed you. Look too much like sour grapes. I'm gonna need Calumon again".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Coming, Gran!", Koichi answered, as he made his way to the front door.

"Juri?", he said at the sight of the girl in the sea green dress and yellow blouse. "Don't just stand there, come on in now that you've come this far".

"You know me?", she asked.

"By reputation, we have a mutual friend with a big mouth..."

"Juri, culu?", Calumon greeted.

"As I was saying...".

"Juri"

"Renamon"

Calumon had told everything that happened in the park yesterday. How Juri had wondered if Calumon could be her partner, and how he explained he didn't need one and didn't want one. The materialization of that rat Deva, Kumbhirimon, who chased the both of them across the park. How Leomon had saved them.

Next, how Juri had chased Leomon, being that she saw him as her partner. Her calling him "Leomon-sama", to his irritation. The reappearance of the rat Deva, and how Leomon, with some assistance from Galgomon, had dispatched the Deva, which sounded too easy. It must've been especially stupid, chasing after Juri, instead of wrecking things in Shinjuku. Wasn't that why they were being sent? To settle a score with Yamaki, and/or to warn him off?

They all retreated to Koichi's "Inner Sanctum".

"Why did you come?", Koichi asked Juri.

"Could you show me how to play Battle Cards?", as she pulled out a thick stack of Digimon Battle cards.

"Not really, I'm afraid", he replied.

"I thought all Tamers knew how to play?"

"The one doesn't have much to do with the other. If you still want to learn, I can at least help you with that", as he pulled out a cell phone, and auto-dialed.

"Takato? Me, Koichi..."

"No, the meet's still on. I wanted to ask - you know that friend of yours - the one who always kicks your ass at Battle Cards...?

"Kazu..."

"Can you bring him along, if it wouldn't be too inconvenient..."

"OK, see ya..."

"Leomon", Juri started, "do you think he'll come back?"

"I really don't know, but you can always hope so. I mean, he did come to your rescue, didn't he? He must have had some reason for doing that. Although that's one thing I can't figure: why a Deva, and an obviously incompetent one at that, would come after you? So far, they've been coming to get even with Yamaki for deploying Shaggai".

"I don't know either, other than we were there to see him materialize".

"Even that doesn't make much sense... unless...?"

"What?", Juri prompted.

"Unless they have you down as a possible threat for some reason?"

"Me? A threat?"

"It's possible. Maybe they figure you just might partner with Leomon... Why else would he materialize from the same digital field as Kumbhirimon?"

"Then why didn't he... He said he didn't know about partners and Tamers".

"Maybe you came on a bit too aggressively? Digimon aren't used to being the love interests of young girls; not something that comes up in their virtual lives. Maybe he has the same sort of feelings about you, and that frightened him. It takes digimon awhile to cope with these new feelings that come with being physical that they haven't felt before coming to the Material World".

"So you think there's a chance?"

"There's always a chance, Juri, if it was meant to happen, then it will. As for how Tamers are selected, I have no idea".

After Takato and Henry arrived with Kazu and Kenta (there would be no keeping Kenta away) the digimon went off to play.

"All those cards are yours!", Kenta and Kazu drooled over Juri's collection. "I've been looking for that one for the longest time! I'll trade you three of these...", Kazu was saying.

"I'll offer you five...", Kenta counter offered.

"I thought you were gonna teach me how to play", Juri complained.

"Trade first..."

"Kazu", Koichi reprimanded, "you can cheat her out of all her good cards later. For now, show her how to play the game, and show her right".

"OK, OK", he agreed. "Maybe you can take down the Digimon Queen next year".

"Now that that's settled, here's the latest downloads Calumon brought us", Koichi was telling Henry and Takato. Kazu, Kenta, and Juri were off to the side, as they began her first lesson.

"You figured out what Yamaki's up to?", Takato asked.

"It doesn't look the least bit good. He has your father and his Wild Bunch working on what they believe to be a weapon of targeted assassination to remove selected Wild Ones who are either feral or trouble makers like this rash of Deva we've been seeing. He's trying to make Shaggai impervious to countermeasures coming from the Digital World. As we all know, Yamaki wasn't anticipating that they'd materialize Mirihimon right there in Shaggai's data stream", Koichi explained.

"Makes sense", Henry agreed, "so what's the problem? He told Father he was concerned about protecting kids from that threat".

"Except that Yamaki is really developing a weapon of mass destruction, not only of digimon living here, but of all digimon, everywhere, including the Digital World itself. He's proposing genocide on a _massive_ scale. This is why he's so hot to have Shibumi's code cracked. If he could understand the core digimon program, it would make that job possible".

"He can't do that!"

"Can't he? He has your father, Daisy, Babel, Dolphin, and Curly working on their own part of the program. None of them would necessarily figure it out because they aren't seeing the Shaggai program as a whole".

"What can we do? Should I tell Dad?"

"Your father has demonstrated a certain reticence to be discussing his work with you. If you tell him, will he believe you? If you tell him, he's gonna want to know how you know that, isn't he? How do you know he won't blab this to Yamaki, either deliberately or inadvertently? There is no way Yamaki won't know: he either hears that the Wild Bunch knows when they refuse, quit, or he figures out they are deliberately delaying his project or sabotaging his code. Then what? Your father gets fired, and given the power and influence of Hypnos, finds himself _persona non grata_ everywhere in the IT world. Telling your father is the _last_ thing you want to do".

"Then what?! We can't just let Yamaki get away with it!"

"We're not, and that's where I'll be needing your help. You understand how a compiler works? Your source goes through a preprocessor where text macros are substituted, then the text code is scanned by the compiler which substitutes snippets of Assembly for each high level instruction. Finally, the Assembly goes through an assembler to produce the machine executable object code. You understand that, right?"

"Sure"

"And what is a compiler, but another application that runs on a computer?"

"True enough", Henry agreed.

"You can use a compiler to compile its own source code. When you compile the compiler, you can make it do anything you want. Hopefully, all that is is to produce a compiler. You can make it do other things as well, like include back doors, password decoders, and malicious code. Which, of course, is why you need to really trust the people you get your compilers from".

"You can do that?"

"It's been done before. That's what I'm planning for Shaggai: Yamaki will compile the source on our special compiler, and he'll be including a logic bomb. Let him look over all the source, all the assembly, and he'll never find it. He'd have to look through each and every line of machine code to find it. Maybe he'll do that by the time he's old enough to collect his lavish government pensions. Our little cream puff can install it".

All Takato could do was look on, not understanding what they were talking about.

"Not gonna be easy, but we can get it done. I have some contacts of my own, and if you have any geeky friends you can really trust, then invite them to come along too".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, I had to attend to a call".

"That's OK, after all, we're stealing some of your time", Rumiko, Ruki's mother, explained.

They were waiting in the photographer's outer office. Ruki, wearing a pink dress with a ridiculous amount of lacy frills, was sitting there, sipping a soda through a straw. The walls were decorated with photos of the various models his modeling firm had photographed, including a prominent one of Rumiko herself, done not too long ago.

"It's nothing", he replied. "We asked you to come, after all".

"This is Sugai", Rumiko introduced the photographer. "I owe a big part of my job to him", she explained. "So I hope you don't say anything strange, Ruki".

"Like what?", she asked. Ruki was less than pleased to be here, but so far, had behaved herself.

"You know, like 'Why are models always smiling? You can't believe those smiles are genuine', or 'I hate dresses'".

Rumiko could be quite clueless, Ruki thought, as she noticed the surprised look on Sugai's face, as if _she_ had actually said them herself.

"I don't hate dresses", Ruki objected. She stood up, facing her mother with a look of anger in her eyes. "I just hate the dresses _you_ make _me _wear!"

"You see, that's what I'm talking about", her mother reprimanded, still clueless as to how she was embarrassing herself, as if Ruki had started it. "Please don't say anything like that".

"That dress is really pretty", Sugai lied. "Because you look good as well, you can wear a dress like that. It wouldn't look anywhere near as good on most other girls". She knew what he meant: it's a hideous dress.

"Here", Sugai handed her an even worse hat, "it's even better with that hat", as she put it on.

"I see", Ruki replied.

"We'll finish straight away", Rumiko reassured.

"It's just a photo test", he explained,as he led her into the photo studio, and had her stand behind a plain backdrop.

"You have nice eyes", he complimented, as one of his two photographers composed the shot through the view finder. "Would you like to have a job like your mother's?", he asked.

"No", Ruki replied flatly. Rumiko didn't like hearing that bit of honesty.

"First, we'll do a flash test", the photographer explained. Ruki flinched at the flash. The photographer took a measurement with an exposure meter.

"Now just act naturally. I'll take a few shots without the flash", he reassured. His camera clicked and whirred.

"Good, keep it like that", as he took more photos from various angles.

"Nice, now can you take off the hat, and look at the camera?", he requested.

"Good, OK"

Ruki flinched as he approached for close-ups: "Don't move", he ordered. "Now, I'll take some pictures with the flash. Don't close your eyes". She, somehow, managed to do that.

"Lift your chin a bit", he requested.

Ruki let the hat slip from her grip. As that one-eyed monster came at her, she finally pushed it away forcefully enough to tip the photographer off balance. She ran away. Ruki had discovered that she was camera shy.

"Ruki!", her mother called after her.

She walked all the way back home, in that hideous dress.

"Where did that girl go?", Rumiko asked Seiko as she folded the dress Ruki had dropped on the floor of her bedroom in a heap.

"She said she was going out for awhile, and be back soon", Seiko explained.

"When is 'soon'?", Rumiko asked, none too pleased. "Running off like that... she doesn't know the trouble she caused me. It wasn't easy, arranging that photo test... I should be the angry one here!"

"I'm sure she'll be back soon. Your daughter is more responsible than you give her credit for, so don't worry".

Supper time came and went. Sundown came, twilight faded into night: still no Ruki.

"I'm home", Ruki announced, as she stepped through the door. Her mother was waiting.

"And where have you been?", her mother demanded. "You had me worried!"

"Out for a walk"

"A walk?", she asked, incredulous. "What kind of grade school girl takes a walk _this_ late?!"

"This one", Ruki replied, as she pointed to herself.

"That's it!", Rumiko spoke very sharply. "I've _had_ it with the sass, the back talk, the attitude. You're coming with me, young lady!", as she took Ruki roughly by the arm. "I don't know what else to do with you, and you are going to be punished", she threatened, as she led her to the kitchen.

"You are going to get a spanking..."

"That's a little kid punishment", Ruki dismissed, as she turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't!", Rumiko said, as she pulled her back. She picked up a thin branch she'd earlier trimmed from one of the trees in the garden. Brandishing it: "You can do this the easy way, or the hard way. If you insist on doing it the hard way, I will whip your ass until won't be able to sit down for the rest of the week. So what's it gonna be?"

"Granma!"

"Don't you involve your grandmother; this is between you and me".

Ruki just stood there, saying nothing.

"So what's your choice?", Rumiko demanded.

Ruki still said nothing.

"Well?!", she prompted, "make up your mind before I make it up for you!"

"Easy", Ruki finally conceded.

"Very well, face that chair", as Rumiko pulled out one of the kitchen table chairs. Ruki did as ordered.

"Drop those jeans".

Ruki reluctantly undid her belt, opened the front of the jeans, and slid them down to her knees.

"Bend over"

Ruki felt her jeans pulled down and bunched around her ankles, hobbling her feet; T-shirt pushed up into her arm pits. Her panties joined her jeans around her ankles. Rumiko open palm swatted Ruki's bare butt cheeks. She made sure to cover both, and was taking her time, letting the redness rise, the sting to set in between swats. Not the angry flurry of swats she expected. Her own mother was really trying to maximize the hurt.

Ruki defiantly refused to cry or make a sound. Perhaps if she had, it would have ended sooner, or the swats would have been lighter. After Ruki's ass was well reddened: "Stand up, pull your pants up and go to your room. Don't you come out until you are ready to offer a sincere apology. Am I making myself clear here?"

"Yes", she said as she gingerly eased her jeans over her burning butt.

"Yes... what?"

"Yes, mother".

Ruki went to her bedroom, but didn't stay there. Instead, she opened the door onto the breezeway, crossed the back yard, and climbed the tree nearest the wall: her usual method of sneaking out.

She walked until she found a flood diversion tunnel. This one rectangular, though the walls didn't come straight down to the floor. Instead, they slanted down, making a perfect perch. Ruki laid back against the wall next to where the tunnel curved off to the right. She slowly slid down the wall, her bottom stinging even more as she contacted the hard concrete, even through the denim.

She put her elbows on her knees, face in her hands, and finally sobbed quietly, given the acoustics of the tunnel. Here, alone and unobserved, she could finally let the tears flow.

It was the humiliation of being punished like a little kid, not the actual spanking itself. Her mother might as well have stripped her naked. And for what: a photo test she never requested and didn't want. She'd forced herself into her best behaviour, she'd worn that godawful dress for her mother without complaint. She waited quietly, and it was her mother, not her, who said all the embarrassing things she didn't want Sugai to hear. Her mother provoked her, perhaps deliberately? Could she help it if she was camera shy?

Betrayed. Where was the grandmother she loved? Where was _her_ support when she needed it the most? In the end, she had sided against her. Betrayed, just like the father who had not visited her in years. Betrayed just like that partner who would not evolve.

And she was the one who was expected to offer up a sincere apology?

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Henry and his sister were in their apartment when they felt the earthquake hit. The feeling magnified by being on an upper floor. Though this wasn't a rare occurrence by any means, it was the special report on the TV that caught his attention:

_The earthquake was measured as being a four on the Richter scale, but nowhere else outside of Shinjuku. The epicenter has not been located..._

Now that was indeed strange: a "local" earthquake? They know within minutes where the epicenter is located, as seismologists are always on duty, always monitoring quakes. Could this be digimon activity? He wondered.

He wasn't the only one to notice the unusual seismic activity.

"I need an explanation", the politician or bureaucrat was demanding of Yamaki via audio/visual phone call. He was obviously riding in the back seat of a limo.

"What do you mean by an 'explanation'?", Yamaki asked.

"Don't give me that!", he demanded. "Are these earthquakes related to more Wild Ones?"

"We're looking into it as we speak", Yamaki reassured.

"I hope you don't disappoint me, or make my efforts to get Shaggai reauthorized useless".

"I understand that", Yamaki offered. The call ended.

"I understand", he told himself, "how I understand". Had it not been for the last successful deletion of a powerful Wild One, it's likely Shaggai would be finished, and his career along with it. After his initial screw-up, few were convinced he knew what he was doing, or that it was worth doing at all. At least the politicians had not yet learned that it was the Tamers who were doing most of the work, and that he was taking most of the credit.

The next morning found Takato, Juri, Kazu, Kenta, Henry, Terriermon, Calumon, and Guilmon hanging out at the park, playing as usual. This time, the peculiarly dressed boy of few words also put in an appearance. Juri had decided to give chase, to ask that kid who he was and what he wanted. Calumon came along for the ride, clinging to Juri's head.

Takato and the others chased after Juri. Takato, especially, had noticed the inordinate interest the boy took in Calumon.

"Henry!", Terriermon suddenly called out.

"What is...", he never got the chance to finish the question, as he heard Guilmon behind him beginning to growl. That meant one thing: a materialization was starting. There was another temblor, this one strong enough to knock down a sign.

"Juri!", Takato called out, "you OK?", he asked, concerned as it had fallen right in front of her.

"Yeah", she said, OK... Where's that kid?", she asked, as she lost sight of him...

Ruki was still in the flood diversion tunnel. For how long, she did not know. It seemed to be daylight now, had she fallen asleep? She couldn't remember. Certainly they knew she wasn't in her bedroom by now? Should she go home and face, what, her mother's switch? She didn't know.

The temblor was strong enough to shake loose concrete dust from the ceiling, making her hair feel gritty. "Perhaps it'll cave in? That'd show them", she thought to herself as she imagined her rotting corpse dug out weeks or months later...

"How about a break, everyone?", Janyu suggested to his Wild Bunch colleagues. They'd put in long hours, and being in the subbasement, had not felt the latest quake.

"This is no time to be taking breaks", Yamaki reprimanded. "I need the the latest results of your analysis".

"That analysis isn't complete", Janyu explained. "Since evolving on their own for so long now, it's going to take a lot more time for a complete analysis of the core digimon program", he explained.

"Complete?", Yamaki sneered, "I didn't ask you for 'complete'; I asked you for your latest results", he said with a nasty tone of voice. "How much longer do you intend to let your own son play such a dangerous game?"

"You asshole: emotional blackmail now?", he kept that to himself. Working for Yamaki wasn't what he expected, and it sure wasn't what he was promised...

"These earthquakes: I wonder what the connection with the Deva is?", Henry asked.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out.

"Terriermon!", Henry added.

Guilmon was growling especially loudly, his eyes gone reptilian, Terriermon riding on his back.

"It's a digimon!", Terriermon called back.

Renamon landed on the roof of the car next to which they were standing: "It's about to appear!", she announced. They knew that if Renamon was here, Koichi couldn't be far behind.

They followed them into a park: "A digimon is going to appear here?", Henry asked no one in particular.

"Is it going to appear?", Takato asked.

"No doubt", Renamon said.

The digital field began forming. They'd never seen one this big, not since the one that covered the Hypnos building, but that one also had the assist of Shaggai. This one was spontaneous, so far as they knew...

The klaxons at Hypnos went off, and Yamaki ran into the control room.

"It's a Wild One", Tally confirmed, "a big one... I've never seen such a volume of data accumulating so fast", she warned.

"Where?", Yamaki asked.

"Shinjuku's Toyama Park", Riley told him.

"Is it materializing?", Yamaki asked.

"It is... what do we do?", Riley asked.

"Execute Shaggai", Yamaki ordered.

"But that's..."

"Time to demonstrate Shaggai's true potential", Yamaki seemed very sure of himself...

"It's coming!", Terriermon announced.

"It's _huge_!", Renamon confirmed.

"What is it? A mountain?", Terriermon asked.

"It's a digimon!", Henry replied. "It's a... huge boar!"...

From around the bend, Ruki noticed the light. She kept very quiet and still. Was this Rumiko and Seiko coming for her? Cops? She listened and heard no footfalls. Surely, she would hear footsteps, given the acoustics of the tunnel? Also the light was not bobbing and weaving, as if someone were carrying flashlights. It was just steady, growing brighter as if the source were coming her way, but without a hint of any sound at all.

Was it just her imagination? Did she hear something, an indistinct voice? Or both?

"What... what is it saying?", she asked herself.


	12. Helluva Pig

**11) Helluva Pig**

Takato read off the profile:

_Vikaralamon_

_Vaccine type animal digimon_

_Ultimate_

_Holy Beast_

That last meant "Deva". This one, however, was doing something that they had not seen before. It had connected itself to a data stream that was tearing the sky apart.

The boar Deva began to move its immense bulk: "Look out!", Henry called out, "or we'll be crushed!"

"Where's it going?", Takato asked, as he watched it head out of the park.

The panic was already beginning, as people began running, police officers trying to direct the running people, urging them to remain calm, and keep moving in an orderly manner.

"Hey guys!", it was Koichi. "Been here sooner, but parking's a bitch. Fill me in".

Vikaralamon wasn't moving very fast, but he didn't need to. Though the feet were largely obscured by the long fur, that the tremendous weight of the beast cracked the pavement with every step was not.

A side street that was too narrow for his width presented no problems as he simply tore off store fronts and tore his way through the buildings.

"Kenta, Kazu, Juri: look after Calumon and each other!", Takato ordered.

"You can count on us", Kazu called back. Juri nodded in agreement.

Vikaralamon turned down a main street, pulverizing pavement as he went.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! Guilmon Evolve! Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**KYUUBIMON! GROWLMON! GALGOMON!**

The immense Deva pulled down power lines, feeling nothing at the voltages and currents that could kill a whale instantly. Poles fell, smashing through windows, falling on parked cars. This was the most destructive Deva they'd ever seen.

"Foxfire Dragon!"

"Exhaust Flame!"

"Gatling Arms!"

The Champions fired their various attacks. Vikaralamon simply ignored them completely, as if their attacks were too far beneath his contempt to even acknowledge.

"No effect!", Kyuubimon announced, horrified.

_Hypnos HQ_

"...40%", came an announcement.

"Keep it up", Yamaki replied.

"What's going to happen?", Janyu called out as he came running into the control room, and up to Yamaki.

("45%")

"What is this device?", he asked.

"This is the Shaggai system. It holds the power that lets us control the 'Net"

"What?!", Janyu asked.

("50%")

"It will eliminate all digital lifeforms from the Material World in one go", Yamaki finished his explanation.

"Wait! If you do that, you'll destroy the children's digimon too!", Janyu objected.

"Indeed, it will", Yamaki replied with absolute indifference, "they can always find new pets to play with".

"Why... why be so cold-blooded?", he asked. "I wasn't informed about anything like this!", he protested, as he was beginning to understand just what it was he'd been working on without his knowledge.

Yamaki turned to face him: "It's all to protect those dear children of yours!", he replied, face filled with anger.

("55%")

Janyu looked down: "Please", he said softly, "don't do this".

("60%")

Hypnos had tapped into traffic control video cameras. Yamaki called up the video on one of the main viewing screens.

"Look at what's happening out there right now!", Yamaki demanded. "If this keeps up, Shinjuku will be destroyed. Do you know of any other way to deal with this? If you have any alternatives, then I advise you to share them right now!", Yamaki challenged.

"We will eliminate all digital life forms and then erect an Icewall that will put an end to these incursions forever", he explained.

_West Shinjuku_

"Plasma Blade!"

"Dum-dum Upper!"

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!"

Growlmon, Galgomon, and Kyuubimon were attacking again. Once again, failing to even get the Deva's attention, as he headed towards a pedestrian overpass. He walked right through it, tearing it down completely.

Koichi, Takato, and Henry were running down a side street to come out at the main street, just behind the passing Deva.

"Takato!", Growlmon called out

"Growlmon!"

"Henry! It's no use: we're not even hurting him", Galgomon explained.

"We need to get to Ultimate!", Kyuubimon advised.

"It's destroyed...", Takato said sadly. He looked back at what looked like a war zone: "...our city..."

Koichi and Henry both were thinking the same thing: Takato was falling into one of his depressive funks. Now was not the time...

"I'm sure they're searching for me...", he said. They didn't know what he was talking about.

_Hypnos HQ_

("85%")

"Stop it!", Janyu demanded, as he grabbed the lapels of Yamaki's jacket. Yamaki pushed him back, causing him to trip.

"Keep your damn hands off me!", Yamaki threatened to hit him.

("90%")

"You're all going to disappear", Yamaki announced to the image of Vikaralamon. ...

"We need those f'kin' Blue Cards!", Koichi called out.

"Here's one!", it was Kazu. He handed something to Takato.

"Kazu... that's just a drawing..."

"Yeah? So what? Wasn't Guilmon once just a drawing too? What do you have to lose at this point? All you have to do is try it", Kazu said as he placed his bogus Blue Card in Takato's hand. "It's a matter of believing strongly enough... Just like bringing Guilmon into the world".

Six feet away, Calumon had seen everything. He winked one green eye, and gave a nod. The red triangle was already beginning to glow. Takato had no doubts now...

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Growlmon Evolve! ..._

**... MEGALOGROWLMON!**

He passed it to Koichi...

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Kyuubimon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON!**

Who passed it to Henry...

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Galgomon Evolve! ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

The Ultimates took off to face down Vikaralamon...

("100%")

"Launch Shaggai!", Yamaki ordered.

"STOP!", Janyu called out.

The green beams began projecting from the tops of the twin towers...

_West Shinjuku_

Police were directing an emergency evacuation. Takato's parents were watching the details on the TV.

"Do not panic", an officer was calling out to the people being evacuated. "Follow all instructions of emergency personnel, and keep moving in an orderly manner. Everything will be fine"

(_The creature that has recently appeared in Shinjuku is moving down Meiji Ave. An evacuation has been ordered for all citizens living in West Shinjuku..._)

"Phone's out", Yoshi informed her husband. "Where's Takato?", she asked. "Do you have everything packed yet?"

"You go on ahead and look for some place to stay. I'll wait here, and join you when Takato comes back", Takehero replied.

"What are you saying?"

Before he could answer, two police officers appeared at the door: "The Matsuda family?", one asked. Please, you have to go now!"

"Yeah, we're waiting for our son", Yoshi explained. "Once he's back, then we'll leave".

"I see. It's dangerous to remain here; don't wait too long", the cop advised.

"We're wasting time here", Yoshi told her husband.

"We're not going to wait around", he agreed. "Better we go find him ourselves" ...

"Rapid Fire!", Rapidmon struck with the RPGs. The two RPGs struck the Deva, finally getting his attention. He retaliated with the "Boar Bog" attack: a black, foul smelling, sticky mass that engulfed Rapidmon.

"I... can't move", he complained as he struggled against the sticky goo.

"Bonhitsusen!", Taomon attacked, vapourizing the mess, freeing Rapidmon.

"Thanks, Taomon!", he called back to her.

"This Deva: I'm afraid our power won't be enough", Taomon replied.

Megalogrowlmon and Vikaralamon were facing off in the street. Both growling at one another. With a roar, the pig Deva launched the sludge at Megalogrowlmon, who sliced through it with the blades attached to both arms. He fired his rocket packs, and charged his Plasma Blades, going in for the attack.

This time, Vikaralamon fired something else, looking like an orange fireball, it struck Megalogrowlmon, driving him back, trapping him underneath it.

"Megalogrowlmon!", Takato called out. "Can you stand?", he asked.

Next, more Boar Bog sludge hit both Taomon and Rapidmon, entrapping them in the smelly, sticky mass.

"Why?", asked Henry, as he looked to the sky. Whatever Vikaralamon was doing had reached the Frontier itself. Digimon on the other side, some he recognized, and some he didn't, were gathering to watch the show. "Why is this happening?!", he asked no one in particular out of frustration.

The phenomenon was also holding the helicopter gunships of the SDF at bay. ...

"Shaggai's network control has reached the fourth layer", Riley announced.

"Can we really do this?", Tally asked.

"Don't you think it's heretical for humans to create life?", Yamaki asked Janyu.

He had no answer to that.

"This is the result of your work", he sneered at Janyu.

"What the...", he started...

Takato was near Megalogrowlmon, still trapped under that orange fireball: "Megalogrowlmon", he said.

"Fate's Glow: digimodify!"

Koichi and Henry scanned the same card through their respective digivices. (Yamaki and Janyu both saw the results displayed on the main monitor.)

Taomon and Rapidmon were surrounded with a white light that freed them from the sludge.

"Rajas!", Taomon produced a red symbol made of chrome digidizoid. She threw it, as it buzz sawed through the sludge, clearing the way for Rapidmon, who released a barrage of ordinance, followed by the "Rapid Fire" RPGs, all targeted on the Deva's mouth.

His ordinance right on target, as everything exploded deep inside Vikaralamon. Flames shot from his nostrils, as he reared back and roared in agony. He collapsed to the street.

"Yes!", Rapidmon called out, "we _can_ defeat him, Henry!"

The "Fate's Glow" effect passed, then something strange happened: "Henry", Rapidmon called out, "I'm losing power".

"On!", Taomon created her force field: "Rapidmon! Inside now!", she called out. Whatever it was, also interrupted Vikaralamon's data stream as well...

"Shaggai's control has reached the Physical Layer", Riley announced.

Yamaki laughed upon hearing this news: "I'm not like the rest of you", he gloated. "I know how to use the power I have", he taunted at Janyu.

Janyu walked off, saying nothing.

"There's nothing you can do now", he called after Janyu.

There was one thing he needed to do, however. As he neared the exit: "Excuse me sir!", one of the rent-a-cops intercepted him, "Exiting the area is forbidden!", he challenged.

Janyu acted as if he didn't hear: "Are you listening..." He easily flattened the both of them.

"Henry!", he called out. At the very least, he could be with his son, apologize for the imminent deletion of the partner who meant so much to him...

"Takato!", Henry called out, "Takato", he shook the unresponsive boy.

"Guilmon", Takato sighed sadly.

"Snap out of it!", Henry demanded.

"I don't understand..."

"What don't you understand?", Koichi asked him. This is what he feared: a disabling, depressive episode at a time when that was the _last _thing they needed.

"When digimon evolve they get bigger and stronger, but they're not friends like they were before... Is this the evolution? Is that what evolving means?"

"She's _still_ my friend!", Koichi told him. "No matter how big and strong Taomon becomes, she's _still_ Renamon, my friend and lover", he told him firmly, though gently.

"Koichi..."

"There must be a reason they grow bigger and stronger", Henry told him.

"A reason?", Takato asked.

The green beams projecting from the Hypnos building seemed to strike an unseen barrier. Like ripples in a pond, they spread out in concentric rings that broke apart into concentric arcs. As these straightened, green lights projected downwards, aiming at every digimon below.

One hit the pig Deva, and he began to "phase out", Unfortunately, the same thing was happening to Taomon, as it began to eat away at her force field.

"I detect a power that's deleting our very existence", she said.

"What do we do?", Rapidmon asked.

The orange fireball, originally meant as a means of destruction, became, for Megalogrowlmon, an instrument of protection.

"Koichi, your plan had better start working and soon... Or we lose all the digimon", Henry told him.

"Patience, my friend, patience will be rewarded".

"Henry", he heard someone calling his name. It was his father, Janyu, he saw as he looked around.

"Father!", he called out.

"Henry, I'm... sorry", Janyu said. ...

"The situation is well under control", Yamaki was informing his superior. "I'm glad to live up to your expectations"

Suddenly, every monitor filled with screens of ones 'n' zeros.

"What is this?", Yamaki asked, "a bug?"

"No, it's coming from the network's deepest layer... from the Digital World itself".

"More binary..."

"No, streaming audio", Riley interrupted, "putting it on the monitor"

_To the humans who created us: now that we have evolved, our human creator is no longer a god for us. We are only protecting our world, it is natural: everything has the right to defend itself. Humans keep interfering in our world, keep interfering with our evolution. And have made themselves a clear threat to our world. We have the right to evolve to higher levels. We have the right to eliminate those who threaten our lives and our evolution._

"What?!", Yamaki called out. "How _dare_ they!" He didn't appreciate threats from these digimon. He took it personally. ...

Ruki stood before the strange phenomenon that had produced the light she'd seen. The source didn't come from any one location, instead, it seemed to fill the whole tunnel, wall-to-wall, and floor-to-ceiling: a shimmering wall of light. It resembled that strange anomaly she'd seen once before, the one that almost got Guilmon in another flood diversion tunnel. However, that one looked more substantial, and didn't fill the entire tunnel.

"Do you want to be the strongest Tamer, Ruki?", a voice asked. It seemed to becoming from behind the wall of light.

"You... know my name?"

"Are you content to Tame just one digimon, or do you desire to Tame multitudes? Do you want to be the Digimon Queen in fact, or just in name only? Do you want to go on playing silly card games, or do you desire true power?"

"Who... are you?"

"We are Evolution itself, Ruki. Your reign as the Digimon Queen awaits" ...

Juri, Calumon, Kazu, and Kenta also saw the same thing going on, though they didn't understand it. And they had something else to worry about: that strange new kid. Everything Yamaki heard in the control room was being said by this boy.

Juri backed away, as he advanced. The boy turned his head through 360 degrees, pointed at her: "Your turn!", he said.

"Don't come any closer!", Kazu demanded. "What the hell are you? You're disgusting!"

As if to answer his question, one of the green Shaggai beams struck him, deleting his disguise and revealing him for what he truly was: "It was a digimon all along?", Kazu said.

Its answer came with an ear piercing sonic attack. It used this diversion to make good its escape.

"My shield won't hold for much longer", Taomon said.

"What do we do?", Rapidmon asked.

"Taomon and the others are in danger!", Henry announced. "The digimon are disappearing!". If Koichi's plan was going to work, then it had damn well better work and fast.

"I'm really sorry for what's happening to your friends", Janyu apologized once again.

"Friend... Guilmon", Takato said.

"Look there!", Koichi called out, as he pointed to the sky. It looked like lightening flashing across the center of the disturbance Shaggai was causing. More green "ripples" appeared, though coming much faster than before. ...

Klaxons were blaring, and something was going wrong with Shaggai's digital warp field generators: they were overloading, and as severely as suddenly.

"What's wrong?! What's happening?!", Yamaki called out.

"Shaggai has been controlled", one of his assistants informed him.

"What?!"

"Shaggai has turned on itself... it's attacking itself", sparks flashed along the walls. Shock waves jarred loose the tiles from the walls.

"Wasn't the Icewall supposed to prevent that?", Yamaki asked.

"I don't think the Icewall has anything to do with it. This... attack seems to be coming from inside Shaggai itself. I can't explain it... It's getting dangerous here, we should go"

"Wait!", Yamaki ordered. "You have a job to do Mister!", he threatened.

"Ask yourself one question: is it really an artificial intelligence? Those scientists from the old days... how I envy them".

At least he hadn't been abandoned by everyone: Riley, alone remained, awaiting orders.

"Go. Save yourself", he told her in resignation.

Yamaki looked like how the captain of the Titanic must have looked after being informed the ship was going down.

Down in the subbasement, the overloaded digital warp generators exploded. An overloaded distribution transformer under the street exploded, sending a tongue of fire up through the sidewalk gate. Black smoke poured up from the basement, and out the main door...

"The impure energy that was weakening us is gone", Taomon announced to Rapidmon. Unfortunately, the same was true for Vikaralamon as well. The pig Deva roared out with increasing fury and power.

"You can't stay here!", Janyu announced, "it's too dangerous".

"Taomon!", Koichi called out.

The SDF helicopter gunships were moving in, firing their chain guns and missiles at the Deva. This just pissed him off even more, as he fired a fireball at one, nearly bringing it down.

"Takato!", Juri called from across the street. "That weird kid... he was a digimon!", she announced.

"And he was saying some weird shit", Kazu added.

"Stay there!", Takato called back. Janyu ran across the street: "It's not safe for you children here! Hurry up and get away!"

"Koichi". Takato began, "you said it: no matter how big they become, they're still our friends, right?"

"Uh-huh", he agreed.

"And friends always help friends, right?"

"That true", he agreed, "that's why we're here: to help our friends".

With that, Takato stepped into the middle of the street and began yelling. He wasn't saying anything, just screaming as loudly as he could. Koichi and Henry could only look on, wondering what he was doing.

Koichi, at least, received his answer as Megalogrowlmon burst through the orange fireball that, up till now, had him trapped helpless. He was up, and growling softly as Takato continued screaming. Megalogrowlmon took a couple of steps towards the Deva.

It must be the same sort of psychic connection he'd experienced with Kyuubimon, that first time she evolved to Taomon. Same phenomenon, different reasons: Takato had designed Guilmon, and Koichi and Renamon were lovers.

Vikaralamon fired another fireball, as Megalogrowlmon fired his rockets, propelling him at the Deva. This time, he sliced through the fireball. He grabbed the beast by the tusks, and began to try to tip him over, as the screaming continued. He succeeded in lifting Vikaralamon head, so that the fireballs he shot simply flew into the air. Rapidmon shot them down before they could fall into the city, doing even more damage.

"Taomon! Now!", Koichi called out.

"Bonhitsusen!", she launched the attack that severed Vikaralamon's connection with the Digital World, robbing him of power.

Megalogrowlmon succeeded in tipping the massive beast over, then fired an Atomic Blaster right down his throat at point blank range. He roared once, then exploded into data. All that was left was a crater in the middle of the street. He looked on, growling softly.

"This is the real... digital monsters", Janyu said to himself.

Takato had hands on knees, bent over, catching his breathe.

"Takato!", Juri called out, as she, Kazu, and Kenta were running towards him to congratulate him. Juri was carrying Calumon. Suddenly, that monkey digimon ran past, snatching Calumon from her grasp before she knew what had happened.

"We need this in order to evolve to higher levels", the "monkey" was explaining. "I shall take it back to where it belongs"

"What are you talking about?", Koichi asked.

"Calumon isn't a thing", Takato was saying. "He's our friend. Let our friend go!"

He ran at him, but the "monkey" was too fast. He leaped upwards, as Takato fell to the ground: "Calumon!", he called out. It was obvious where the "monkey" was going, as the disturbance that had exposed the Frontier had not dissipated yet.

"Leomon!", Juri called out as she watched him leap from a nearby roof top.

"Everyone has the right to live their own lives their own way!", he declared as he tried to stop the abduction. The "monkey" easily swatted him out of the way. The silhouette of a black bird appeared on the other side of the Frontier. It fired a storm of thin white needles at Leomon as he dropped to the ground.

"Leomon!", Juri called out as she reached out with her right hand. A ball of white light appeared, and she found herself holding a digivice of her own. She pointed it at Leomon, and the needles piercing his body disappeared.

Laughing, the "monkey" disappeared behind the Frontier, as the sky returned to normal.

"Looks like a war zone", Henry observed.

"Which is is", Koichi pointed out.

"Calumon is the key to evolution", Henry pointed out. "If he and that power fall into the wrong hands..."

"Then we go!", Takato declared.

"Huh?", Henry asked.

"We go to the Digital World and we get him back!"

"How?", Henry asked.

"Figure something out", Koichi said. "Not much choice, given how that digimon 'God' (finger quotes) is nuttier than squirrel scat. If he gets ahold of that power... I'd rather not think of the consequences".

Yamaki stood outside the Hypnos building. The fire was still burning in the basement, sending thick clouds of black smoke rolling out the main doors. He saw his career going up in the same flames.


	13. Intermezzo: Impmon & Yamaki

**Intermezzo: Soul Searching, Impmon and Yamaki**

"Why did you insist I come here?", Impmon asked.

"Because I haven't given up on you, even if everyone - including yourself - has. It's just you and me - digimon-to-digimon - nothing you say here leaves this room", Renamon promised. They were meeting in Koichi's "Inner Sanctum", and had the whole house to themselves, for this meeting. "I ask you once again: why are you so obsessed with proving how strong you are? Even to the point of self destruction, and we both damn well know that's what trying to fight Indaramon by yourself would have amounted to: suicide"

He started to rise: "I'm not in the mood for another sermon..."

"Good! Because you're not gonna get one. I can't preach at you from some moral high horse because I fell out of that saddle a long time ago".

That caught his attention, and he sat back down: "How do you mean?", he asked.

"Like you, I came to this world to get stronger. It was right after that big card tournament last year, the year Ruki won it. That evening, I was called from the Digital World, and I partnered with her. I knew all along that she wanted to make herself the strongest Tamer. There seems to be some rivalry between her and this Ryo Akiyama: the 'Digimon Queen' versus the 'Legendary Tamer'.

She used me as an object for her own amusement, and I didn't care. I was just as guilty: using her to increase my own strength. Feral digimon, trouble makers, it didn't matter. I followed her orders to attack, defeat, and download. I don't know how many potential Tamers I deprived of partners, and I could not have cared less even if you paid me..."

"Is that true? I didn't know..."

"Impmon, _you_ were the first digimon I met here in the Material World whom I didn't attack on sight. Do you know that I attacked Guilmon on Ruki's orders? Even though I _knew_ he was a partnered digimon?"

"This is the first I ever heard of it... you seem to get along well?"

"That was the occasion that began to awaken the conscience I thought I'd killed off. It's hard to admit it, and it shames me as a digimon warrior, that I didn't have the courage to tell her 'No, I won't attack Guilmon'. I did my best to try to avoid harming him. For the first time in my life, I took a dive because I was more afraid of losing Ruki, losing my ticket to evolution and strength. That wasn't the first time, and Guilmon wasn't the only one. She ordered me to attack him again, and to attack Henry's partner: Terriermon. Again, I refused to defy my Tamer despite knowing that what she was ordering was wrong. Let there be no misunderstanding here: I could have defeated both of them. Guilmon because he lacked experience in fighting, and Terriermon because he's weaker.

So you see, I have no moral high ground to stand on. I'm trying to give you the benefit of my experience so you don't make the same mistakes I did. There a Material World saying: 'The smart man learns from his own mistakes, but the wise man learns from the mistakes of others'".

"That's what I've been saying all along! You sold yourself into bondage to that girl! Even going so far as defying your own conscience! I refuse..."

"Impmon! That _wasn't_ the point I'm trying to make. You need to reconcile yourself with the reality of your situation. This world is very much a _human_ world. That means that _we_ are _their_ guests. That means it is up to us to abide by _their_ laws, _their_ rules, and to respect _their_ customs. And, yes, that means it is well within their rights to control when we evolve, how we evolve, and even _if_ we evolve at all. Yes, Impmon, even that.

If the tables were turned, and it was humans who were coming to the Digital World, would you expect any less of them? If you can't accept that, then maybe you don't belong here, and maybe you should go back to the Digital World".

"I suppose... I would expect that of humans if they came", Impmon reluctantly agreed.

"Furthermore, it has nothing to do with being in bondage to anyone. I've tried telling you this before, but Koichi isn't my master. He doesn't boss me around. Sure, I made a bad choice, partnering with Ruki for all the wrong reasons. I compounded that mistake by thinking I could change her. I had hopes that she was beginning to understand what it took me all too long to recognize. Partnership isn't just about evolving and getting stronger. It's about bringing out the best in each other. Yes, even as disastrous as being Ruki's partner was, I still came out the better for it. I am a better partner for Koichi for that. You are the one who's costing yourself riches that go far beyond overcoming your Rookie weakness, of evolving to the next level and beyond. Why would you do that?"

Impmon explained about coming to the Material World. He wanted to escape a Digital World that seemed to be slowly but surely falling apart. Of hoping for a life beyond fighting. The Material World held new challenges, first and foremost, finding the food and water - the bio-necessities - he did not need in the Digital World. Shelter was no problem: impmon are fast and agile, and sleeping in trees is no big deal. Water, no problems there: the park had many drinking fountains.

It was food that was a problem. At first, he tried begging from those who came to the park to eat their noontime meals. He also got tired of scavenging through garbage cans. He'd taken to B & E for survival. He was pretty good at it too. He was careful to help himself to nothing but left-overs, and canned goods swiped from refrigerators and pantries. Sometimes, he'd swipe spare change left on a dresser or rob a kid's piggy bank for the subway. Never anything of any real value, as he didn't want to attract the attention a cat bugler would attract.

It was that day: he'd been casing a suburban home. He had become maybe a bit too complacent. He thought the home empty. As he was rooting through the 'fridge, there came a small voice:

"What're you doin'?", a little girl asked.

He was not aware that the children were still home, taking a nap. He just stood there, not knowing what to do, or what to say.

"You hungry?", she asked.

Impmon nodded: "Yeah".

"Sit down, and I'll fix you something", she said.

Impmon sat at the kitchen table while the girl prepared a bowl of cereal.

Her twin brother came to see: "Ai", he said, "you shouldn't let in strangers!", he reprimanded.

Mako finally agreed that Impmon, not being human, wasn't a "real" stranger. And so started Impmon's ill-fated stay with the twins. For the first few days, everything was fine. The twins hid him in their bedroom. The twins brought him food, water, and a place to stay.

They soon forgot, taking him for granted. They'd forget to bring him food, and he would have to wait until late at night until he could sneak into the kitchen to raid the 'fridge. They would ignore and neglect him as they played with new toys. They soon only paid him attention when they fought over toys, which was frequently.

"Stupid, selfish humans", Impmon dismissed.

"Of course they were stupid and selfish", Renamon agreed. "They were, what, five? That's like holding a Fresh to the same expectations as a Champion. It's unrealistic, and you are bound to be disappointed. You didn't understand about human children. That was then, but this is now. You should recognize your misjudgment for what it was: an error of judgment based in inadequate knowledge. What is your excuse now, Impmon?"

"All the stupid things they do..."

"Like smashing in the roofs of a dozen cars? Oh wait, that wasn't them doing that, now was it? You were some sort of hot-shot Top Gun in the Violet Zone ADC? How do you think that would look to those in your squadron if they could see you now? How does that malicious prank make digimon look? How does that reflect on the Violet Zone you swore to defend? How does that reflect on the Digital World?

By whose standards are they 'silly' (finger quotes)? They're ten years old! Their games are silly only by the standards of human adult behaviour. You hold them to the same human standards of conduct you keep telling me you reject. Isn't that hypocritical of you? If they're so silly, then explain how it is that you asked Koichi to take you to the school camp-out with Guilmon? If you _really_ don't care, then why didn't you walk away when you saw Henry and Koichi in the subway? Why did you warn the others if you really didn't care? Why did you warn us Indaramon's plan if you really didn't care? Who do you think you're fooling here? Is it me... or is yourself? Give yourself an honest answer to that question".

"So what do you want me to do?"

"What I want is for you to at least open your mind to the possibility that you do not know it all. Admit to yourself what everyone already knows about you anyway: it's a lonely life you're leading, and you don't like living without friends. If you really are interested in showing us how strong you are, then admit you need help and companionship. There is no greater strength than that".

"If I wanted a partner, where would I find one?"

"You weren't at a loss to find people to torment in the park. If you really want one, well, as they say, the teacher appears when the student is willing. Are you willing, Impmon? And if you're not, then could you at least do just one thing for me?"

"What would that be?"

"At least stop screwing it up for the rest of us who are trying to live in this world as good guests".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

It was ten in the morning and Mitsou Yamaki was already on his third scotch and second pack of cigarettes. He sat at the coffee table in his apartment living room, the surface covered with reports, and the overflowing, over sized ask tray.

(_According to the Network Administration Bureau, the appearance of a gigantic life form known as a digimon that caused heavy damage in Shinjuku was an isolated incident and is not expected to be repeated. The General Communications Office has assured that an investigation is ongoing, and that short term measures are being implemented to avoid any future issues... On to other news..._)

Yamaki wasn't paying any attention, as he gazed out the window at the twin towers of Hypnos off in the distance. It was now his former place of employment. He was out, gone under a cloud of ignominy and failure. Too late did he realize that his agreement to proceed with Shaggai on a trial basis gave the politicians and bureaucrats the cover of plausible deniability. None would take any responsibility. Every one looked the camera right in the eye, and laid every bit of the blame for the rampage of Vikaralamon right in his lap. There were rumours of an investigation by the Diet itself, a special prosecutor, and possibly even criminal charges.

He'd been played like a cheap whore house piano. Now, it was too late... A cell phone was chirping, but he paid no attention, made no move to answer. Who could be calling anyway: he was no longer of any importance to anyone of any influence. His so-called "friends" and "supporters" would no longer have anything to do with him.

His live-in fiancee, Riley, entered the room: "What's going to happen now?", she asked as she stepped in front of the table opposite Yamaki.

"There's nothing we can do anymore..."

"That's not what I'm talking about. What are _you_ going to do? I'm worried about you. You can't mope around here your whole life. You did your best; you did what you thought right. You have to put it behind and move on..."

He wasn't paying a bit of attention. He'd just had an alcoholic inspiration. He brought up the dossier on Takato on his lappy.

"Are you hearing me?", she asked.

He was too focused on the screen.

"You can be so exasperating at times!", she said, as she turned to go.

He finally grunted out an acknowledgment. Yamaki knew that, after this latest cock-up, he was through in the tech industry. Who would hire the guy who'd brought this creature, this devastation, to Shinjuku? He knew where the salvation of his career lay: with the Tamers. That was the bitterest pill to swallow, knowing that the fate of what was left of his career was in the hands of a bunch of fifth graders, and one eighteen year old who hated his guts. Even more bitter than having to acknowledge to himself the truth: he was not motivated by any concern for the kids or the country, but rather by his anthropocentric arrogance that was wounded by the very existence of non-human life that had evolved itself to equality with its creators.

That he was motivated by the fear of what Shibumi saw as a promise: the digimon would surpass, then replace, humanity.

There was one problem with his plan, and it was a big one: why should the Tamers trust him? Why should they ever want to help him? This was the problem he was trying to solve right now.

"Koichi is going to be the biggest problem", he thought to himself. "I won't be able to put anything past him, so I'm not going to try".


	14. Last Day on Earth

**12) Last Day on Earth**

"Koichi, you scared _hell_ out of us", Takato reprimanded, "I thought I was gonna lose Megalogrowlmon".

"That wasn't possible. Think about it: what if Yamaki had used Shaggai on just Vikaralamon? The logic bomb would never have gone off, he would have made our job a helluvalot easier, and he'd be the hero of the day.

On the other hand, if he attacks our digimon, and it goes off that instant, he's gonna figure it out. This way, it looks to him like Shaggai was doing exactly what he'd programmed it to do, but there was some sort of glitch, bug, or maybe he decides it's another countermeasure. All he has left is a big mystery that's gonna keep him busy for a good long while... Although I do confess I wasn't expecting it to be so devastating as to take out the rest of Hypnos with it".

"I wasn't expecting that either", Henry agreed.

"Moumantai!"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Come in", Janyu invited to the knock on the door.

"You wanted to see me?", Henry asked, as his father was working on something.

"Can I see your Ark?"

"Ark?", Henry asked, "you mean the digivice?", as he pulled it from his pocket and handed it over. Janyu turned it on, the holographic display popped up, seeming to hover over the digivice, displaying a drop-down menu.

"It was our dream", Janyu explained, "that kids in the future would use these Arks to communicate with their favorite digital monster characters, or download any information they wanted from any database on the 'Net. What you have here exceeds our original expectations...", he seemed momentarily lost in thought.

"Terriermon?", he asked. "Seeing something you dreamed of coming true, it's a pleasant surprise. I wonder if you can understand..."

"You mean something like dreaming of seeing a whole new world with your own eyes? I wouldn't know..."

"Terriermon!"

"Moumentai!"

"Someone, somehow, accelerated the evolution of digimon, and made my Ark a reality. I'm working with friends and colleagues from all over the world so children won't have to fight anymore".

"Too little and too late: we know all about what you've been working on", Henry kept that thought to himself. Fortunately, Suzy interrupted just then, and her appearance couldn't have been more fortuitous.

"Hey, mom is cutting some watermelon. Have some?", she announced.

"Terriermon, you too... want some watermelon?"

"Let's try that watermelon", Janyu announced.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Hey, Juri, how's it goin'? Studying?", the customer at the bar called out.

"Juri! How many times have I told you not to come down here during business hours?!", her father asked with an angry edge to his voice.

"I just came down for some OJ", she explained, as she took the biggest glass from behind the bar, and poured it full from the carton she took out of the 'fridge. Be done in a sec".

He followed after her: "You be sure to wash that glass!", he called after her, as she went up to the living quarters. "And don't come down here again before closing time!"

"What an asshole", his customer thought to himself.

"Woof! Woof!", a hand puppet called out the window to the leonid digimon perched on the ledge just outside the window.

"Leomon-sama, I brought you some juice", Juri said as she laid the glass on the ledge.

"Drop the 'sama', just plain Leomon is sufficient", he said. That was an irritating habit. Leomon took it, sniffed, and tried a sip. He had never tasted orange juice before.

"What's it like?", Juri asked as she joined him on the roof. "The Digital World?"

"What can I say?", Leomon replied.

"It's completely different, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's true, but there are some things that are similar", he explained.

"We're going there... it must be amazing. I think it's great, going to a new world, because no one's ever been there before..."

"I hate to burst your bubble", he said, "but you won't be the first. Although you'll be the first Outworlders in a very long time to set foot in the Digital World".

He laid a massive paw on her knee: "I'm your partner now", he began. His paw, the rough pads on her knee gave her shivers between her legs.

"And I'm your Tamer", she completed the thought. "So I'd like to ask a small favor..."

"Yes?", he prompted.

"Would you slide that paw a little higher?", as she spread her legs.

He pulled it away as if he'd touched a red hot stove.

"Sorry Leomon", she said, as she recalled what Koichi told her about newly materialized digimon and their unfamiliarity with feelings of physical beings.

Leomon thought to himself if he would ever understand Outworlders and their ways. He needed to say something:

"Juri, it isn't that I don't like you, but I'm so big and you're so small, I don't want to hurt you".

"I know you would never do that".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Koichi wished Renamon were here to help out, but she and Guilmon were busy, trying to find a suitable gateway into the Digital World.

"Koichi, no!", his father was complaining. "You're supposed to start the first term in a week. What's this business of delaying for a year?"

"I can't be in two places at once, and it's essential that we go to the Digital World".

"I didn't object to having Renamon live here. I didn't even object to the borderline bestiality..."

"Father! That's no way to talk..."

"It's your _future_ we're discussing here! You can't throw that away to go on playing with kids _half_ your age..."

"In the first place, we're not 'playing games' (finger quotes). Where have you been? Haven't you been paying attention?! You saw what happened up north? That crater in the middle of Meiji Ave? You heard the threat issued by that digimon God - it was all over the news..."

"Leave it to the proper authorities!"

"Dad, when it comes to this, we _are_ the proper authorities, and that's the straight up truth and we both know it. Lots of kids take a year off after high school, and for reasons a good deal more frivolous. That whacked-out digimon God has the power of Evolution now. If we don't get it back, and soon, there may not even _be_ a future for me, or anyone else, to worry about. We are going, and that's final. Throw me out of the house, disown me, do your worst... because _nothing_ you threaten me with can compare to the threat that's coming, and that very few are even aware of".

The next morning, Renamon returned.

"Find anything?", Koichi asked.

"Nothing", she apologized, "if we don't find it soon, it will be too late. Vikaralamon's influence is fading fast".

"Maybe Guilmon'll come up with something?"

"So far, I've heard nothing. For our sakes, I hope so".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Takato decided to take the "scenic route" to school, dropping by Guilmon's shed.

"Takato!", he called out. It sounded like he was far away... He went to investigate.

"Guilmon?"

"Come see what I found", it sounded like he was deep underground. Indeed he was. At the back of his excavation, made originally to increase the size of the living space, he found a deep pit.

"Why did you dig so deep?", he asked.

"You'll see".

At the bottom, a slanting shaft through which Guilmon led the way. There, at the end, was the unmistakable scintillation of a digital portal.

"It was here all the time, Guilmon explained, right under where I live", he pointed towards it, and his paw began to phase out.

Takato pulled it back: "Careful Guilmon!", he reprimanded, "I don't want you pulled in prematurely!"

He watched the scintillation: "It really is a surprise", he said. "I never expected we'd find it here... like that's too convenient?"

_Homeroom: Class 5-2_

(_When planning paragraph breaks, be sure that you plan them so they don't change the meaning of your writing..._)

"Calumon", Takato whispered to himself. His notebook was filled, not with class notes, but doodles of Guilmon, Calumon, and Impmon. He didn't notice Ms. Asagi walking past.

"Is my lesson that boring, Takato?", she asked.

He stood like a shot: "No, Ma'am".

"Takato, I get paid the same whether you learn or not. I already learned this, and it's not my future at stake here... it's yours. You're in the fifth grade now, soon to be off to Middle School. I would think you'd show a little more diligence... You will stay after class to write a letter of apology".

"Yes Ma'am", he said sheepishly.

"Ma'am?", a hand went up. "I wasn't paying attention either"

"Juri?"

"I was day dreaming!", Kazu said, as he motioned to Kenta.

"I was taking a nap!", Kenta "confessed".

"Ohhhhh! All of you! Go stand in the hall!", Ms. Asagi ordered them. "You will stay after class to write letters of apology! Juri: I'm surprised at you, of all people... Get out!"

"Busted again", Kazu said as they stood outside the door.

"Another detention", Kenta agreed. "This your first, Juri?"

"All because Takato got caught drawing in class again", Kazu said.

"This may be our last class", Juri pointed out.

The end of the day found them staying behind, writing their letters of apology. They turned in their workbooks and left. Henry was waiting for them.

Ms. Asagi was grading tests, got bored, and picked up Takato's workbook to see what he'd written.

_Dear Ms. Asagi:_

_I don't find your lessons the least bit boring..._

She smiled to herself at reading that.

_...it's just that, today, you caught me during a moment of preoccupation. I'm sorry, but this letter of apology is really a letter of notification: we won't be coming back to class tomorrow, and I really don't know when..._

"What?!", she said to herself.

_Sorry if the class average drops without me..._: Juri.

_...going to the Digital World..._: Kazu.

_...going to a world no one has been to before...:_ Kenta.

As the four detainees were joining up with Henry and Terriermon: "Wait! Stop!" it was Ms. Asagi. "What is the meaning of this?!", as she waved their workbooks at them.

"We explained everything there", Takato said, pointing at the workbooks.

"That's not good enough! Explain it to me... The children who were with the digimon?", she finally recalled the scenes from the news casts, even though there were no interviews, or close-up's.

"That's us", Terriermon told her.

"We're sorry if it seems selfish", Juri explained, "but it wouldn't seem right to just leave without saying anything".

"If it were summer vacation, it wouldn't be a problem", Kazu said.

"Enough!", she ordered. "Going on a journey all by yourselves! You're just... children! You can't do that!"

"It's not like there won't be adult supervision", Takato said.

"Why are you telling me this! I don't want to know about it! Didn't it occur to any of you that I might be held responsible?!"

"We're really sorry about that", Takato said since it hadn't occurred to him at all. "We will tell our parents... Could you do one favor? Could you not tell anyone for 24 hours?"

"We're really sorry for that", Juri apologized.

"We are determined to go", Kazu told her.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out.

"Moumentai: no problem", Henry explained.

"I... What am I going to do?", Ms. Asagi said to herself as she watched her students walking off. Tell their parents... what exactly? Tell the authorities? Either way, she'd seem totally nuts. There was another answer: that evening, she burned the workbooks in the fireplace. Never tell anyone, plead ignorance if questioned. Problem solved.

"Not one of your brighter ideas, Takato", Henry reprimanded after they'd left the school grounds.

"I didn't think she'd read the damn things right off", Takato explained. "I didn't think she'd read them until tomorrow, or later tonight. I wasn't sure she read them at all. I've written enough of them, and she never commented before".

_Shinjuku Central Park_

"So the portal was here all along?", Koichi asked.

"I don't know", Takato said, "but that's when Guilmon found it: last night".

"Guilmon", Henry advised, "I think it would be a good idea if you stayed away until we're ready to go".

"I know".

"What to tell my parents?", Kazu asked.

"I have no idea", Kenta replied.

"We need to tell them something", Juri pointed out. "We have to..."

"Kenta, Kazu?", Koichi asked, "you aren't planning on coming too? You don't have partners".

"If the mountain won't come to Mohammad, then Mohammad must go to the mountain", Kazu said.

"What better place to find partners?", Kenta said, "the Digital World is full of digimon, and I just need one".

"Meet here at 6:00AM?", Takato asked, "anyone got a problem with that?"

"Kinda early for me", Koichi complained, "but we'll be here".

"C'mon Guilmon".

"Huh?"

"High time you met the 'rents".

As Guilmon and Takato were arriving, the departing customer thought to herself: "The bakery has a new mascot? How odd, a dinosaur".

Yoshi didn't take it nearly so well.

"He's the digimon I designed", Takato explained, after his mother had returned to a semblance of calm. "I was lucky that he materialized, and now he's my best friend. I have other friends with digimon partners: Henry, Juri - you met her, she comes here all the time - and Koichi Lonnegan".

He decided it was best not to mention Ruki, the missing girl whose name and pictures were all over the news, as that wouldn't be very reassuring.

"Then isn't he just like that monster that appeared the other day?", Yoshi complained, still not very calm.

"Monster?", Guilmon asked.

"Let's hear him out", his father advised.

"There's also this cute digimon named Calumon. He's small, but has a great power. It's because of that, that he's been taken against his will by this evil digimon to the world where digimon live: the Digital World. Calumon's power has fallen into the wrong hands, and if this evil digimon figures out how to use his power, the results could be catastrophic, and not just for the Digital World. He's already made threats against the Material World, and you both saw how he carried them out: that 'monster' (finger quotes) from the other day. If he had even more power, I don't want to think of the consequences of that.

That's why we have to go: to prevent this power from being abused. Besides, Calumon is our friend and he needs us..."

"I don't want to hear any more!", Yoshi was in tears again. "Why should you have to go? Isn't there anyone else?"

"Actually", Takato said, "I _want_ to go! I want to see the Digital World! I'd like to leave early tomorrow, and I'll be needing lots of bread for Guilmon..."

"It's insane!", Yoshi complained. "Are you listening to what you're saying?!"

"Please, I need to do this".

"A bunch of children can't go without an adult!"

"Actually, we will be going with an adult: Koichi is 18..."

Takehiro got up and began mixing flour in a large bowl.

"What are you doing?", she asked.

"Baking extra bread for Guilmon and Takato", he explained.

"Surely... you're not..."

"I've never seen Takato this serious about anything..."

"But he's just ten years old!"

"Plenty old enough to go on a trip by himself".

As he was still mixing, Guilmon came into the kitchen area.

"So you're Guilmon? Once, some friends of Takato's asked if I'd make Guilmon bread..."

"Guilmon bread?", he asked.

"I didn't know about you at the time, and didn't know what they were talking about... You see to it that you get Takato back, and I'll have make your Guilmon bread for the coming home party".

"It's a deal!", Guilmon told him.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_Outside Guilmon's Shed_

"Hey, Juri! Leomon!", Kazu called out. "Mornin'!"

"Good morning!", she called back.

They caught up with her: "I told my folks it's a school trip", Kazu explained.

"I left mine a note", Kenta replied. "You, Juri?"

"I... uhhhh... mmmm...", she began, "I'm going with Leomon, and..."

"Hey!", it was Henry and Terriermon at just the right time.

"Wait for us!", they went off to catch up with Henry.

"Where's Takato?", Koichi asked.

"He was here a minute ago", Guilmon pointed out.

As if on cue: "Hey, guys!", Takato called out. The reason for his absence clearly visible in his hands: another Tamers banner. This time decorated with drawings of Kenta, Kazu, Juri, Leomon, and Impmon added. This time, mounted to a more substantial post.

"A Tamers flag!", Kenta observed.

"That's supposed to be us?", Kazu asked.

"It took me half the night", Takato explained.

"You shouldn't have", Kazu said.

"Really. You shouldn't've..."

"Terriermon!"

"Moumentai!"

"Thank you for that, Takato", Juri replied.

"Ehhhhhh...", was all Takato could say.

"You're easily flattered", Kenta said. "Why'd he put Impmon on there?"

"Because _someone_ has to keep you dumb asses out of trouble", Impmon said, as he was just now putting in his appearance, as he dropped from a tree.

"I didn't know you were coming...", Kazu said.

"I don't see why not. We have humans without a digimon, so why not a digimon without a human? Up until a couple of days ago, I didn't know I was coming either... Renamon, I thought about what you said".

He wasn't the only unexpected drop-in...

"You!", Koichi called out. "You _sonofa._.."

"I know what all of you are up to", Yamaki explained. "Henry: you should know better than to send personal e-mails to your father's office account. I'm afraid I can't let you go...", he paused for dramatic effect, "...without this". He tossed something to Koichi.

"And this would be..."

"My hand-held. Use it to keep in contact with me and I'll relay messages to your folks... You. All of you. I envy you for where you're going".

"Uhhhh...", was all Koichi could say, as this was so unexpected, "...thanks... We'll be sure to stay in touch".

Koichi stood there, looking at Yamaki's parting gift: "What the hell do you suppose that was about?"

"Perhaps Mr. Yamaki has had a change of heart", Renamon theorized.

"You think so? I wonder if he isn't trying to pull something..."

"Why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Not full trust just yet, but keep in mind the possibility".

"So what do you suppose it'll be like?", Kazu asked.

"There's one way to find out..."


	15. Into the Void

**13) Into the Void**

They made their way through Guilmon's bore, Kenta having the most difficulty as he was carrying Takato's banner. The portal looked bright only in contrast to the surrounding darkness. Once through, there was enough room to stand, and it was like walking on a transparent floor.

All around them swirled carats, plus and minus signs, asterisks, square and curly brackets, greater than arrows - all the symbols used in C/C++ and various scripting languages. These seemed to be constantly popping in and out of view. It looked like being underwater in a lake to depths where the last of the sunlight reached. Ahead of them, instead of above, was a patch of brighter green, as the Sun would appear from a great enough depth.

One instant, they seemed to be walking normally, the next it was as if gravity was suddenly switched off.

"Where did the ground go?!", Kenta asked.

"It feels weird", Kazu agreed.

"We're not falling", Henry observed, "so we should be OK".

"Don't worry", Impmon told them. "It's just a transition zone".

"Which way do we go?", Takato asked.

"It makes no difference", Renamon told him.

"You don't know? Impmon? Leomon?"

"Space and time are meaningless here", Impmon informed them.

"I think we should go that way", as Juri pointed.

Gravity returned with a vengeance, and they were falling through a featureless whiteness, now as bright as day in contrast to the darkness of the transition zone. They broke through the "cloud deck", and were looking at a net of fine, blue filaments. If they hit that, it would slice them to ribbons, yet they felt nothing as they passed through it.

A light yellow-green plane lay below, showing details that gave it the vague look of a circuit board.

"Frontier dead ahead", Impmon announced.

Takato noticed a dark spot appear, and wondered what it might be. He screamed in terror as he realized it was his own shadow. He put up his arms, but barely felt his passing through the apparently solid plane. There were more of these planes below it, these being a much darker shade of green.

"The bread! The bread!", Guilmon called out. Takato's backpack had come undone, scattering all the bread. Oh well, some other lucky digimon would eventually find it, where ever it may come down.

"How deep are we going to fall?!", Takato called out.

He had his answer as they appeared above a desert wilderness. One thing they all noticed was the lack of any sort of development, no cities, towns, villages, or farms were seen. Just a vast expanse of varying shades of brown. Koichi though that strange: at this altitude, he should have seen _something_...

They came down, hit the soft sand, and made craters nearly as deep as they were tall. Koichi let a hand full run through his fingers. He sensed not the slightest trace of moisture. As he stood, Renamon offered her paw, and helped him out. Leomon was doing the same for Juri. Takato was boosting Guilmon out of the double crater they'd made. Then Guilmon helped Takato out.

Henry, Kazu, and Kenta were climbing out of their craters.

Koichi looked around, seeing not the slightest trace of vegetation.

"Not what I imagined it to be", Henry said.

"How did you imagine the Digital World?", Terriermon asked.

"I dunnow, but Arizona or New Mexico wasn't it". It did look like the deserts of New Mexico: vast expanse of sand, studded with mesas.

"Takato, we lost all the bread", Guilmon was complaining.

"I know, all Dad's hard work... Sorry 'bout that", Takato replied sheepishly.

"Did we fall all the way from there?", Kazu asked.

"It's too high", Juri said.

"It's _way_ high... I thought for sure we were gonners", Kenta said, "and we're not even hurt".

"What's going up there?", Takato asked Koichi, who was looking at something that dominated the sky. "What is that?"

"It's the Material World Sphere", Impmon explained, "how the Material World looks from our side of the connections".

"That's _our_ world?", Koichi asked. "If that's so, then how come we can see the Material World from here, but we can't see the Digital World back home?"

"Look closer", Impmon told him.

Then he began to notice: there was not a trace of cloud cover to be seen. A whole hemisphere with no cloud cover, no sign of weather, no storm systems. Not too damn likely. He focused on the Japanese islands, the coast of Siberia, and Sakhalin Island to the north. It all had a vaguely grainy look to it. Surely there would be some detail? Even if this were a L.E.O., then at least Tokyo should be visible?

The biggest difference were the silver "funnels" from which projected pink streams of light.

"That is a representation of the Material World, but not the actual planet Earth", Impmon was explaining. "We aren't in orbit; we never really left Earth. We entered the Digital World of pure data".

"So our folks aren't waiting for us up there?"

"No"

"What's with those lights?"

"Those are data streams coming from and going to systems located in the Material World..."

"Be certain you avoid them", Leomon interrupted. "If you get caught in one of those streams, there's no telling where you might wind up..."

"YAH-HOO!", they were startled by a loud cry. It was Takato.

"Who are you yelling at?", Guilmon asked.

"No one", he explained, "it's so vast, don't you just want to yell?"

Koichi understood: these kids had never lived anywhere other than the big city. They might go to the park, or on camping trips, but they were seldom out of sight and sound of life in a big city. This vastness, this quiet, the uninterrupted vistas, it was all new to them.

"It's so high up and far away", Juri was saying, "are we stuck here forever? How will we ever get back?"

"Juri, why so gloomy?", Takato asked. "Of course we'll get back! Look at Renamon, Leomon and Impmon: they were here, and they went to the Material World, didn't they?"

"That's true", they all agreed.

"Moumentai!"

"We came here for a purpose: to find Calumon...", Takato announced.

"First, let's take pictures!", Kenta announced. He and Kazu had planted Takato's "Tamers" banner. "To commemorate this historic moment: one small step for mankind, one giant leap for us", he said, mangling that famous saying even worse than did Neil Armstrong.

There were various poses - serious to silly - and combinations of Tamers and digimon photographed gathered around the banner they'd planted like the flag of a conquistador claiming a new land for his king.

"What the fuck!", Kenta exclaimed, "there's nothing here?"

"Let me see", Henry requested. He clicked through the pictures. "They took", he said, "but are severely pixillated".

"That's a digital camera", Impmon pointed out, "and it's trying to digitize images that are already digital. It's digitizing twice".

"So our electronics don't work?"

Koichi tried Yamaki's hand held: "It won't connect", he said, "Looks like we're completely on our own".

"Then we really are stuck?", Juri asked, very worried now.

"T'hell with that!", Takato exclaimed. "We came for a reason..."

"OK, so where do we begin?", Kazu asked.

"Well... ummmmm...", Takato began.

"Hey guys!", Koichi called out, rescuing him. "It looks like an antenna farm just over there", he pointed.

"He's right", Henry agreed, "those _do_ look like antennae".

"Then someone must live there", Takato concluded.

"There's certain to be regular inspections", Koichi explained, "a maintenance facility of some sort. There's for sure a service drive that'll lead to a highway or at least a main two-laner that will lead to a town. It's a good place to start. Maybe we'll meet someone who knows about Calumon? Or can point us in the right direction?".

They set off in the direction of the parabolic dish antennae. All but Kenta and Kazu walked along in silence, as there wouldn't be anything to discuss until they arrived.

"From Shinjuku to Ikebukuro...", Kazu was complaining.

"Shinjuku, Shin-Okubo, Takadonobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro...", Kenta added.

"Stop counting", Kazu replied.

"Guys", Koichi was explaining, "things look closer than they really are in the desert. It's something you'll just have to get used to..."

"I'm dead!", Kazu announced, as he dropped to the ground in an emo display of over dramatization.

"Me too!", Kenta agreed.

**The Frontier**

Makuramon was flying across the yellow-green plane. In a spherical bird cage, he carried Calumon. He was pleased with himself: mission accomplished, and he expected great rewards for delivering to his God that which he was sent to recover. The Digital World had been robbed, and now the digimon God was going to set everything right.

That was, until he tried to cross the Frontier. For some reason, Calumon's cage got stuck by its base, leaving Makuramon hanging by one hand. He was figuring out how to free the cage when he saw it: bright white balls of light, seemingly meandering at random, drifting all around them.

"It... it rejects me?", Makuramon asked himself as he felt something prying his fingers from the handle. "I shall resort to my God's power". Too late, his grip failed, and he dropped, leaving Calumon behind.

"Pretty, culu?", he commented to himself.

Calumon watched the "lights" resolve themselves into what looked a lot like white owls. They had black eyes, and a long plume extended from the tops of their heads that were longer than their entire bodies. They flew around the cage, making a high pitched chittering sound.

"I want to play, culu?"

Whatever they did, Calumon found he could pass, effortlessly, through the bars of the cage.

"I'm out, culu?! I'm out, culu?!", he said as he glided into the Digital World to a soft landing.

**The Desert Zone**

"Guys?", Juri called out. "I think we made a mistake?", as she pointed to a mesa.

"Rocks! They weren't antennae!", Kazu confirmed.

"From a distance, they sure did look just like antennae", Koichi said. "Damn: I saw just what I wanted to see, not what was really there... Sorry guys".

"I wonder if these are natural formations, or if someone carved the mesas?", Henry asked.

"Most likely natural", Leomon speculated. "It looks like the data from which it was created".

"Most likely the specs for a VLA radio telescope", Impmon added. "See? They're arranged in regular rows and columns".

"How far do they go?", Juri asked.

"As long as we're here, how about a lunch break?", Koichi announced.

"Takato lost all the bread", Guilmon reminded him.

"I have some cookies", Juri offered.

"How about MREs instead", Kazu offered. He and Kenta had thought to visit a survival store to pick up packets of MREs. These in their own self-heating packets. Their backpacks were fully stocked with enough to last both humans and digimon a good long while.

"Glad you two thought of it", Koichi agreed. This just might make up for all the whining they'd already done, and undoubtedly would do in the future.

"Yeah, we sure are!", Takato agreed.

"Thank you", Guilmon added.

"W-w-w-what's... that!", Kenta screamed. He and Kazu began to run from the couple dozen or so pink, somewhat off-round balls that were being swept before the wind down the shallow U-shaped valley where they'd stopped for their lunch break.

Renamon caught the both of them by the shirt collars: "Calm down, they're just dust packets, made up of old, discarded data. They're harmless if you don't touch them".

They calmed down and sighed with relief.

"It's what comes next that should concern you", she added.

"What's coming?!", they both asked. As soon as they did so, the daylight disappeared at once.

"The night", Renamon completed that thought.

"What just happened here?", Kazu asked.

"It's like she said: it's night", Henry explained.

"No evening..."

"Morning, noon, night: that's just so analog", Impmon explained. "This is a _digital_ world: one or zero, on or off, yes or no, day or night".

"Insta-night", Kenta said, amazed.

"And daybreak will some just as suddenly", Leomon added.

"What the hell was that!", Juri called out, pointing towards a nearby mesa. At first they saw nothing.

"There!", Henry called out. They all saw it, a flash of orange against the darkness.

"A digimon?", Juri asked.

Koichi was running the "Ident" function:

_Meramon_

_Anthroform fire digimon_

_Champion_

_His main attack is Magma Bomb_

It was just this attack he launched at them. They scattered, fleeing the red hot Magma Bombs.

"Pyro Sphere!", Guilmon retaliated, but he was too far away. His attack too slow, as Meramon dodged easily.

Meramon leaped from the mesa, landed right in front of Guilmon: "Burning Fist!". He dropped Guilmon with a single punch.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out. He ran to his partner's side.

"That one packs quite a wallop", Guilmon said as he regained his feet.

"You OK?".

"I'll be fine", Guilmon reassured.

"Super Evolution...", Koichi was scanning the card...

"Fist of the Beast King!", Leomon struck first from above. This flattened Meramon, taking the fight out of him.

"What are such powerful ones doing here?!", he asked as a hand reached above the smoke filled crater Leomon's attack made. As the smoke cleared, Meramon's form changed from fire to skin that was marked with patterns of orange and yellow, suggesting flames.

"Go on... load my data... Do with me what you will", he said in resignation.

"Why did you attack us?", Koichi asked. "Are you working for the Deva? Did you do it on their orders?"

"Deva?", Meramon asked. "You...", he began, "...aren't digimon?"

"No, I'm human..."

"Outworlders? I never expected to be meeting Outworlders. You're really from the Material World?"

"That's right, we are. Are you working for the Deva?", Koichi asked again.

"Deva? I don't know any Deva".

Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Meramon proved trust worthy. They were sitting in a circle.

"Have you seen this digimon?", Takato asked, showing the drawing he did. "His name is Calumon".

"No, I can't say I have", Meramon studied the drawing. "I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance"

"How about this one?", as he showed the picture of the monkey Deva.

"No, not that one either..."

"How about him as a partner?", Kazu asked Kenta.

"He's strong and all that, but the heat and fire could be problematic", Kenta objected.

"I suppose..."

"So you're really from the Material World?", Meramon asked again. "These days, it's usually the other way around. It seems so close", Meramon reached skyward. "Like I can almost touch it, but I can't. If only I could find a way".

"Why do digimon want to go to the Material World?", Henry asked.

"This world is all fucked up", Meramon explained. "Look around you: haven't you noticed how lifeless everything appears? Something is slowly but surely destroying our world. We don't know what it is, and our Sovereign refuse to tell us anything. We can't even evolve, and we don't know why...

I want to live, and I don't think I will do that for much longer if I can't escape to the Material World".

**The Frontier**

Ruki hung by her ankles, above a bleak landscape far below. "Story of my life", she said.

"_WHYYYYYY!_", she called out as she plummeted to what she figured would be a certain - and messy - death.

**The Desert Zone**

"A shooting star?", Takato asked himself, as he watched the streak of light cross the Material World Sphere.

"Can't sleep either?", Henry had heard.

"I wonder, why do digimon fight and load?", Takato asked.

"They don't know any different way of life... like our partners, before they came to the Material World"

"That's gotta be tough".

Takato reached for Guilmon, but the yellow eye opened even before he'd touched him: "It's coming!", he announced. Renamon headed for the top of the nearest mesa. The rest of the digimon were as suddenly awake as well.

"What...", Takato asked.

Renamon spotted it: a rising dust cloud on the horizon. They finally heard something like distant thunder. Henry had his digivice out:

_Jagamon_

_Plant digimon, Ultimate_

_They migrate in large herds_

"Herds?", Takato asked, "as in stampede?!"

"They're headed our way!", Renamon called out. "We need to get out of here, and fast!"

She went to collect Koichi, get him to safety higher on the hillside. Leomon did the same for Juri, Impmon helped Kenta and Kazu, Guilmon and Henry were holding onto Takato as the herd of Jagamon thundered past. They came with a distressing rapidity. Finally, Guilmon and Henry had Takato up on the ledge.

"Look there!", Juri called out, pointing. "Meramon!"

"Magma Bomb!", he launched the fireballs into the herd. The herd responded by splitting, one branch swept Meramon away, trampling him, and he burst into data.

"How awful!", Juri called out.

"It couldn't be helped", Renamon said with a startling indifference.

"It couldn't be helped?", Koichi asked.

"It's the Law of the Digital World; it couldn't be helped", she explained.

"Still, that wasn't very nice..."

"Koichi", Impmon said, "do you know who made the Law of the Digital World?"

"No..."

"It was you humans! If you wanted the Law to be different, then you should have written the core digimon program differently. Quite frankly, I find it hypocritical to be complaining about the end results", he admonished.

The next morning, Kazu got up declaring: "I slept great". Kenta wasn't up yet: "Hey, sleepy-head, wake up!", as he nudged his companion awake.

"What are they doing down there?", Kenta asked.

"It looks different than it did last night", Kazu noticed.

"It does, doesn't it?"

They were in the midst of small green seedlings they were sure weren't there last night. As they watched, the two leaves of each seedling began to wiggle on their own with no breeze to cause this.

"What is this?", Kazu asked as he pulled up a "seedling". It didn't come up easily, and it was attached to something much bigger than the first rootlets he expected. The "seedling", instead, turned out be a tail belonging to a critter that looked like it was constructed from clay and rock. It was about the same size and shape as a prairie dog.

Below, on the valley floor, Impmon, Takato, Henry, Koichi, Juri, and their partners were putting the finishing touches on a memorial for Meramon. Takato added a crude drawing he'd done, placing a rock to hold it in place.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!", came the pleading of an unfamiliar voice from further up the hillside. "Why don't you leave me alone?!"

Kenta and Kazu were tormenting the strange critter. Kazu was pulling its tail, while Kenta pulled on its ears. Impmon turned and went up the hill: "You have a lot of _chutzpah_ to ask that of us after what you and your friends did to us last night!", he accused.

"Last night?", Kenta asked.

"These things attacked us in a herd last night...", Impmon explained.

"And Meramon was...", Juri started.

"We were fighting. We couldn't help that", Jagamon explained.

"Excuse me!", she replied sarcastically.

"It was Meramon who challenged them first. Besides, he was encroaching on their territory", Renamon explained.

"Let's not blame them", Henry added. "Takato, why don't you ask him about Calumon?".

"Oh yeah", he brought out his drawing. "Take a look at this: have you seen a digimon who looks like this?"

Jagamon was relieved that his tormentors were leaving him alone: "Hmmmmm...", he said.

"How about this one?", he showed the drawing of the monkey Deva.

"Ahhhh...", with that, the rest on the Jagamon stuck their heads up: "Seen it! Seen it! Seen it!" they announced in a chorus.

"You're _sure_ you've seen him?", Takato asked.

"Well, where did you see him?", Henry added.

They answered in "Hmmmm's", and "Ahhhh's", not very helpful.

"They say they've seen Makuramon, but not Calumon, there's something wrong with that. Can we even trust them?", Juri asked.

"No offense meant, but you wouldn't be lying to us, would you?", Koichi challenged.

"Why would we?", he replied, "we have no reason to lie".

Takato showed him the picture once again: "You sure you've seen him? Which way did he go?"

The Jagamon stood up on its stubby hind legs, just like a prairie dog: "You're gonna tell us, aren't you?", Takato encouraged.

"That way! That way! That way!", they all announced, all pointing in the same direction.

"I still don't like it", Juri was complaining. "We have no reason to believe them".

"There is one explanation", Koichi pointed out, "if Calumon got away from Makuramon, then they wouldn't see them together".

"Could he?", she asked.

"Calumon is a good deal smarter than he lets on. I wouldn't doubt it. Besides, it doesn't really make a difference. If they're lying, we're no worse off than before. If they're telling the truth, then we may be getting closer to locating Calumon... There's just one thing..."

"And that would be?", Henry asked.

"If he escaped, then he's in hiding, and that means he's hiding from us as well as from the digimon God and his minions".

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out, "if we are meant to find him, then we will find him".

**The Frontier**

Makuramon rose on a great plume of orange fire towards the Frontier. He was riding a long, skinny dragon, up to where he'd left Calumon. The dragon grabbed the cage with a huge, three fingered paw, but when he opened it, the cage was empty, but otherwise undisturbed.

"Fuck!", Makuramon called out. "Where did he get to?!"


	16. Needles and the Hay Stack

**14) Needles and the Haystack**

They were on their way, following in the direction the jagamon had indicated. So far it was more of the same: sand, wind blown dust packets, and more sand.

"The jagamon remain at Ultimate all the time, but our digimon always return to Rookie status", Takato was saying to Henry, "so I was wondering... I'd prefer Guilmon to stay the way he is".

"Doesn't matter, Takato, Guilmon is always Guilmon...", Guilmon told him.

"It's coming!", Renamon suddenly called out.

"What...", Takato started, but saw it: a pink data stream headed straight for them, and moving fast.

"Run!", Impmon called out.

Most of the group ran off away from the path of the on-coming data stream, but Kazu and Kenta, not knowing what to do, ran directly away.

"No you dumb asses!", Impmon called out, "not that way!"

"Shit!", Koichi called out, "Renamon..."

Renamon picked Koichi up, and they began to chase after the other two, to divert them, as there was no way they could ever outrun that data stream. By the time they arrived, it was too late. The others could only look on, helpless, as the data stream swept past, leaving no trace that Kenta, Kazu, Koichi, and Renamon were ever there.

"Where'd they go?", Juri asked.

"There's no telling", Leomon explained.

"If we found one of those data streams..."

"It would do no good. No way to tell where you'd wind up. I would not advise trying that".

"Then what do we do?", Takato asked, "We lost them? We have to look for Calumon in addition to Koichi and the others?"

"We have no other options", Impmon explained. "We'll just have to find them, or hope they find us, or both. If it had been Kenta and Kazu alone... at least they have Renamon with them. I'm sure she will take care of them".

"Do we wait here?", Juri asked.

"I don't know", Henry said.

"Better to keep moving", Impmon explained. "The way the data streams work, there's no telling where they'll come out, and no telling where they will come back. Our chances of finding Calumon and the others will be better if we keep going".

"I agree", Leomon encouraged.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out, "I'm sure we'll find them again if we keep the faith".

Koichi, Renamon, Kenta, and Kazu found themselves falling down a long, vertical shaft of some sort. It was as unnerving as the initial drop into the Digital World, but, at least, this time they knew they would survive the fall. As for where this shaft led, they would just have to see.

They picked themselves off the ground, but this time didn't make craters. The topography was as desolate as the desert they were swept from, though in a different way.

"The trees have no leaves", Kazu observed.

"And they're all leaning in the same direction", Renamon further pointed out. "The rocks are all pock marked".

"What do you suppose caused that?", Kenta asked.

"I've seen something like this before", Koichi said, "some documentary on the arctic... trees all leaning in the same direction because of constant winds".

"Are those houses?", Kenta pointed to a strange, almost mushroom-shaped structure. "No windows..."

"And what's the yellow cloth attached to the roof for?", Kazu asked.

"Protection?", Koichi speculated.

"Measure wind speed?", Renamon added.

They didn't have any time for further speculation. At first, it was a light breeze that send a few dust packets rolling past. The wind grew stronger, so much so they could barely keep their feet. Next, they saw an old tire rolling past so fast that it struck a tree, taking a big piece out of it as it burst into particles of data.

"Run, behind that rock!", Renamon ordered.

More flotsam and jetsam, old appliances, furniture, and other junk was flying through the air. That explained the pock marks on the rocks. Everything was hitting with enough force to disintegrate rocks and trees.

The winds were growing fiercer: "We can't stay here!", Koichi called out. "Get to shelter now!"

They weren't going to argue the point, as they ran the best they could towards one of those peculiar homes. They were almost literally blown through the circular door that was hinged on a horizontal axle, allowing it to turn through 360 degrees.

"Why have you invaded our home?", it looked like an elderly couple lived here.

"We apologize", Renamon said, "we didn't know where else to go"

"Never mind that. Now that you're here, make yourselves useful and bar the door". There was a heavy wood beam on the floor that fit two hooks on either side of the door. Kenta and Kazu took one end, Renamon and Koichi the other, and they lifted the beam into place.

Koichi ran the "Idents"

_Jijimon_

_Ultimate anthroform digimon_

_His attack is Hang On Death_

He was almost completely covered in long snow white hair with a thick beard to match. He carried a staff with an animal paw for the head.

_Babamon_

_Ultimate anthroform digimon_

_Her attack is Empress Haze_

The "old woman" carried a broom.

"Jijimon, you old bastard!"

"Babamon, you old hag!"

They began dueling with their staff and broom, all the while calling each other nasty names.

"What the _fuck_!", Koichi said.

"Did we land right in the middle of a family argument?", Kenta asked.

"Shouldn't we stop them", Kazu asked.

"Can we?", Kenta said.

"Can we just watch?", Koichi asked.

"I'm sure they'll get tired of this soon", Renamon speculated.

"You can't run away from me, you old bat!", Jijimon called out as he chased Babamon down the stairs leading to the basement.

Koichi followed: "Why are you fighting? Is it a family argument?"

Jijimon explained: "We've been happily married for forty years..."

"That was twenty years ago", Babamon added.

"What else is there to do?", Jijimon continued explaining, "when the wind blows like this, no one can go out..."

"And a good fight passes the time", Babamon added.

"So this is some sort of bizarre entertainment?", he asked, incredulous.

"Babamon?"

"Yes, Jijimon?"

"We don't have to fight now", he said, "we have guests..."

"You will help us pass the time", Babamon said.

"You want to fight us?!", Koichi said, as Renamon dropped into a fighting stance.

"Oh hell no!", he said, "be our guests, let us entertain you. Come, Babamon, let's prepare a meal".

"Let's", she agreed, as she led the way back upstairs.

"By the way", Koichi asked, "where are we?"

"You don't know?", Babamon asked.

"A data stream dropped us here".

"I see...", she said, "this is the Valley of Gales".

"Let our home be your home", Jijimon invited, as they entered the main living area, and the two older digimon retreated to the kitchen.

"They don't seem to be evil digimon", Renamon was delivering her assessment.

"Then we should be OK trusting them?"

"I believe so".

"That still leaves the problem: how to get out of here, and be on our way to look for the others?"

"Before the winds started, I noticed that the Material World Sphere looked significantly smaller".

"Then we need to go up? But how? The valley walls looked to steep to free-climb, unless you know what you're doing, and I'm definitely not a rock climber. I don't think Kenta and Kazu are either".

"I know, and I'm working on it. Regardless, we can do nothing but accept Babamon's and Jijimon's hospitality until the winds die down".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Come see what Jijimon and Babamon have fixed. Awesome dinner!", Kenta called out.

"Wait till you see it!", Kazu agreed. "Sorry about the wait".

"You can eat now", Babamon announced.

"And welcome to Babamon's and Jijimon's home", Jijimon said.

"Nice to meet you", both announced together.

"Forgive the inadequacy of our preparations, it was on short notice, and we weren't expecting guests", Jijimon apologized.

He didn't need to. There was more than enough: fish and meat, soup and stew, salad, and bread, condiments, and fixin's for sandwiches.

"Come, we'll enjoy it together", they invited.

"It looks delicious", Koichi announced.

"It certainly does", Kazu agreed.

"Thanks for the food", Kazu said as he dug into a submarine sandwich he made for himself.

"Thanks for the food", Koichi said as he dug into smoked salmon.

"Thanks for the food", Kenta said as he dug into stew.

"Thanks for the food", Renamon said as she helped herself to roast beef and gravy.

Jijimon and Babamon toasted the occasion with glasses of red Digital World wine.

"The bath will be ready when you need it", Jijimon announced.

Kenta grunted out a thanks past the kabobs he was stuffing himself with, and Kazu agreed over the soup he was polishing off.

Outside, night had come, and the wind wasn't letting up.

"How's the bath?", Jijimon called out from the outside, as he tended the fire.

"It's perfect", Kenta and Kazu agreed. They went first.

_The rough waves circling 'round the cape_

_Upon the mates who haven't learned their lesson_

_And the bow they beat_

_Even in a storm, even if it's calm_

_Scattering in the sea is my manly spit_

_Today, too, ah, ah, today too, it's calling out_

_Let's fly the flag of the big catch of life_

They regaled them with some truly hideous, off-key "singing". Kenta, especially, liked karaoke, but sang even worse than Takato drew. Jijimon laughed and clapped. Babamon was knitting in front of the fireplace.

At least they'd learned something new: dust packets could be burned as fuel.

"We have a spare bedroom for you", Babamon told them.

After Kenta and Kazu were through, Koichi and Renamon took their turn in the bath, which was more like a small swimming pool.

"That feels so good", Koichi said, "after that desert".

"The water's nice and warm", Renamon said, with a sly look.

"The water is warm...", Koichi agreed, "but I'm hawt!", he announced. "C'mere my Vixen"

"Yes, my Dog".

They both went under, lips locked together. Exploring each other underwater.

Koichi had Renamon bent over the side of the bath, lifted her right leg to gain access to her pussy, and began to slide his dick in and out of her submerged pussy.

"Oh, oh, oh... yerf, yerf, Yerf, YERF! YERF! YERF!"

The spare bed was huge.

"That's big enough...", Koichi said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking..."

"I think so", Koichi said as he reached for his digivice and card carrier.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

Kyuubimon jumped into the bed, and Koichi joined her, as she lay on her side. She licked his face as his hands explored her multiple nipples. All her nipples stiffened, the mammaries swelled, and his hand grew slick as Kyuubimon began lactating.

He licked and sucked the fox milk...

"I want it up the ass this time", Kyuubimon said, as she perched, her hindquarters on the very edge of the bed. She lifted all nine tails.

When Koichi was in position, she wrapped her tails around him as he began to probe her asshole.

"Give it to me", Kyuubimon panted.

"Uhhhhh!"...

"YARF! YARF! YARF! YARF!"

"They're at it again!", Kazu said.

"How long can they go on?", Kenta wondered.

"And Renamon was worried about your singing?", Kazu said.

"Yeah".

"Kenta?"

"Yeah?"

"Jijimon and Babamon are good digimon, right?"

"Yeah, of course"

"They are kinda old..."

"So?"

"I was thinking... how about asking them to be our partners?"

"Think they'd go for that? I mean, they're married and all. Might want to stay together?"

"They'd be with us, and we're together".

"I suppose..."

The next morning, the winds finally died down to gentle breeze.

"Thank you for everything", Koichi told the old couple. "It's time for us to be on our way".

"You can stay as long as you like", Jijimon told them. "It was a real pleasure having you. It's been a long time since we had so much fun on a windy day".

"We would stay longer", Koichi explained, "if we didn't have others who are concerned about us. We have to find a way back to the rest of our party. I hope you understand? We don't want to take advantage of your most generous hospitality".

"Don't worry about that", Babamon told them. "Maybe, when you find your friends, you could bring them back with you? We'd like to meet them too. And we'll be better prepared for house guests".

Renamon was outside, building a hang glider that she hoped would take them above the valley, perhaps back to the desert if it was at a higher level. Perhaps allow them to get a better fix on their position if it wasn't directly above them.

By the time the wind was coming up again, the glider was ready.

"Think this'll hold all of us?"

"I do believe it will. It's a proved design, and I think I've scaled it up properly".

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure it will", Renamon reassured.

"Wait! Wait!", it was Jijimon and Babamon. "You can't leave us yet!"

"Now!", Renamon said, as they got a running start. The wind caught the glider, and they were off.

"Goodbye Jijimon and Babamon!", Koichi called out as they soared over their home.

"When will we ever become Tamers?", Kenta asked Kazu. Jijimon and Babamon had declined, and for the very reason Kenta explained. They were married, and partners to each other.

"How boring", Babamon said.

"They left, but at least we can sing"

"The rough waves circling 'round the cape..."


	17. Demon Lord, Digimon Queen

**15) Demon Lord, Digimon Queen**

"What is it?", Leomon asked Juri.

"Nothing, just a bit tired".

Juri never complained about anything, so if she said she was tired, then they knew she meant it. Impmon, Henry, Takato, Juri and their partners had been on the move since Koichi and the others were caught up in that data stream. They still had no idea when - or if - they would be back.

"Maybe it is time to take a break", Takato suggested.

If they had not paused, they would not have seen it: "What's that, over there?", Impmon asked.

"Looks like houses", Terriermon replied.

There were dome shaped structures in the distance, off to their left. Their colour matched that of the surrounding sand, their outlines broken up by the bits and pieces of old boiler plate and other fixtures. Whoever lived here was obviously not willing to advertise their presence.

As they approached the village, it was obvious that there was neither rhyme nor reason to the planning. The dome shaped structures were placed where ever their owners happened to build them. The grounds filled with odd bits and pieces of discarded junk, sheet metal, old boiler plate, machine and auto parts, and the odd dust packet.

Some of the structures had been demolished by something, but were neither rebuilt not torn down. As far as they could tell, this settlement or village had been abandoned. Or had it?

"Tire tracks?", Henry asked himself, more than anyone else.

"IS ANYBODY HERE!", Juri called out.

"You sure are... brave, Juri", Takato remarked. He wasn't sure if she was brave or foolish, calling attention to themselves like that.

Guilmon's ears pricked up.

"That sound", Terriermon said.

A few seconds later, the humans heard it too. It was something they had not heard since leaving the Material World, and something they definitely were not expecting to hear here: an engine. A large, powerful street bike turned onto the "lane" where they were standing.

It popped a wheelie.

"It's coming this way!", Takato announced the obvious.

"Dodge it!", Leomon commanded.

It turned around: "It's coming after us!", Takato warned.

"How?", Juri called out. "No one's driving it!", she did not notice its diminutive driver, and neither did anyone else.

"Split up!", Henry commanded.

They broke up, going down different "lanes" between the randomly scattered houses.

"Shit!", Takato called out, "looks like we pulled the short straw! Run Guilmon!".

A glance back: "Faster Takato!", Guilmon called. They were nearing the end of the "lane", as one of those houses was directly in the way. They saw a panel of boiler plate drop. A small. dark figure stepped out. Takato and Guilmon ran in different directions, as Leomon scooped the small figure into his paws and got out of the way.

The motorcycle came on, slammed into, and through, the house. Caught on the front fender was another, larger figure that burst into data. The motorcycle roared off into the desert, the sound of the engine fading into silence.

"What the hell was that?", Guilmon asked.

Boiler plate dropped from doorways. More boiler plate and old hubcaps were removed from windows, all filled with the dark faces of figures looking very much like ginger bread men.

"Lots of weird guys came out", Terriermon noted. They were surrounded by what looked to be fifty or more.

"We didn't have anything to do with it!", Takato called out. Being outsiders, he didn't know if they would hold him responsible for bringing in that bike, or if they might assume its rider was one of their party. He finally thought to check his digivice:

_Chuchidarumon_

_Mutant anthroform digimon_

_Rookie Level..._

One of them with a commanding presence stepped forward, looked Takato and his companions over. He made his decision, communicated with a wordless nod. They had received their approval. This one must be the village chieftain, Takato decided.

He was proved correct as he and his party were invited to the largest home, located in the approximate center of the haphazard village.

Stepping inside, they saw that most of the living space was underground. The inside was "decorated" with all sorts of old junk: obsolete computers, old fashioned analog clocks, an old cabinet radio that looked like it came out of 1930.

The Chuchidarumon were either the Digital World's junk dealers and/or obsessive pack rats.

"We're grateful to you for saving one of our own", the chieftain told them. "Go on, eat as much as you like", he indicated a platter stacked high with what looked like softball sized malted milk balls, more than they could reasonably finish in one sitting. "Or maybe the flavor isn't to your liking?"

"We can eat these?", Henry asked.

"Thanks for the food", Juri said.

Juri picked one up and took the first bite. She gave a "thumbs up" approval, as her mouth was too full.

"It's good!", she announced when she was able.

"Juri", Takato said at this latest display of trying new things, of not being afraid.

It was obvious that whatever this was, it was a Chuchidarumon delicacy, and just about the only luxury they could offer to what few guests came to this village.

**Digital World: Unknown Location**

Ruki had been walking for days now. Ever since dropping into the Digital World, discovering the fall didn't kill her, she had felt compelled to follow this path. She walked along a street or boulevard of green stones. She couldn't tell since the weather had turned foul, with the thickest fog she'd ever seen. She thought of places noted for their fogs: London, Maine, the Scottish Highlands. Was it as bad there?

She felt colder than it really was. This damp gloom brought on a shiver. She looked up into a whiteness whose only details were that of swirling mist.

"IS ANYONE HERE?!", she called out in frustration.

A dark figure appeared. Was it always there, now revealed by the shifting mist, or did it just appear as if in answer to her call? She couldn't tell...

"Is someone there?", she called out as she ran towards the figure. As she drew closer, details and colour emerged from the mist. It was big, blue and yellow: a foo dog. She saw no signs of motion, and she walked completely around it, examining every detail. She stood before it once again, and looked up at its smiling visage, the smile looking more like a leer.

"Just a statue", she said to herself. She turned to continue on her way.

"Do you want to be the strongest Tamer?", it asked.

This surprised her so, that she backed away, tripped over her own feet, and landed on her butt.

"So you're a digimon after all", she said. "Why did you scare me so?!"

"Do you have the fortitude to Tame multitudes of digimon?"

"I suppose you're a Deva?", she asked.

"A Deva is a servant of God; I serve my Master", an answer that answered nothing.

**Chuchidarumon Village**

"Round and round and round and round...", Guilmon was playing with one of the Chuchidarumon children. He was twirling them with his hind legs, as he lay on his back.

"Thank you for the meal", Takato was telling the village chieftain, as Juri had collapsed into a hammock. "It was excellent"

"I'm pleased to know you liked it", the chieftain replied.

"Is it OK, to be helping humans like this?", Henry asked.

"I don't see why not?", the chieftain said, "after all, you did help us".

"He's worried you might be punished by the Deva for helping us", Terriermon explicated.

"Deva?", the chieftain asked, "I know nothing of this 'Deva' of which you speak. This place is the grave yard of drifting data, a forgotten village. We bother no one, and no one bothers us..."

"Then what of that Iron Beast?", Leomon objected. "It would seem it bothers you a great deal".

"We can't explain that", the chieftain shook his head sadly. "It just showed up one day, and ever since then, it has rampaged through our village, then goes off into the desert. Some believe it is looking for a rider, but it will find no rider here".

"All those wrecked houses... the Iron Beast did that?", Takato asked.

"Yes", he said. "When the Iron Beast appears in the village, we know there will be a victim".

"That's not right!", Takato declared.

"Then why don't you just beat it?", Terriermon asked.

"Terriermon!"

"So you just let it come, do damage, and hurt your people?", Leomon asked, doing his best to keep the contempt he felt out of his voice. "And you do nothing about it?"

"If you stay here, then more will die", Takato explained. "Then why don't you at least move, get away from here, resettle somewhere safer?"

"Just smash the f'kin' thing!"

"Terriermon!", Henry reprimanded.

"Uhhhhh...", Terriermon responded in exasperation. Henry was going all pacifist on him again.

"This is a place of drifting data", the chieftain explained. "A place of discarded data from which we were born. Our village should be here".

"Then you just can't wait for it to kill all of you... That's not right!", Takato objected.

He felt a tap on the shoulder: "A moment", Henry requested. "Outside".

"What?", he asked.

"Takato, they have their own way of running their village and their lives. I don't think it's our place to interfere. We should leave as soon as Juri's awake, and get on with looking for Koichi and Calumon. Let them solve their own problems in their own way", Henry explained.

"Look at those kids", Takato pointed to where Guilmon was romping with three Chuchidarumon children. "Some day, one - or all - could fall victim to the Iron Beast. Can you honestly tell me you're OK with that?!"

"I agree with Takato", Terriermon said.

**Digital World: Unknown Location**

Calumon had found his way to a dead forest. He looked up at leafless trees. There was nothing alive left in the forest that had been lush and green not too long ago. Another indication that the Digital World was slowly, but surely, falling apart. He looked up through bare branches at the Material World Sphere.

"Culu?", he asked himself. "Is this what lonely feels like, culu?"

**Digital World: Unknown Location**

"If you agree to serve my Master, Ruki, you can have the power and the form you desire", the "Foo Dog" told her. "My Master will endow you with his own power to make that happen for you".

"Serving?", she asked. "This is the first I was told about serving", she complained. The Foo Dog just stared back, saying nothing.

"Perhaps I misjudged your character? Are you that worried about giving up your so-called humanity?", he finally broke the silence.

"Judge _my_ character? You don't know the first _goddamned_ thing about me!"

"Don't I?", he asked. He lowered his head, and without warning, projected a light so bright from his eyes that she reflexively put her arms over her own eyes...

_Every morning, every night_

_You watch over me like the sun in the sky..._

Ruki heard someone singing, but could see nothing. There was something oddly familiar about the lyrics and the voice...

Her vision cleared, and she saw a little girl sitting on a swing. She was four, five at the most. A man was gently pushing the swing, as she was too young yet to swing on her own.

_Every morning, every night_

_Will you promise me you'll be my guiding light..._

She suddenly realized she was looking at her own past. With that realization, _she_ was now the little girl on the swing.

_Promise we'll stay for the sunset_

_And when the moon shines through the darkness..._

"That's a beautiful song, Ruki", the man she now recognized as the father she had not seen in years was telling her, as she looked up worshipfully, from the vantage point of a four year old. "Sing some more", he requested.

"Promise me you'll always be there..."

The scene changed.

"Of course divorce is expensive", her father was telling some friends of his she did not recognize, "the finer things in life usually are".

"I know just the thing", one man was saying, "a divorce party to celebrate your new freedom! It'll be just like a reverse bachelor party, only we'll get really hammered this time! You don't have to stay sober".

"Great idea", her father agreed. "Won't matter if I'm hung over tomorrow for the non-wedding day". They laughed.

The scene changed again.

"I don't know how we'll make this month's mortgage either", her father was telling a new wife. "If I don't make the alimony and child support, they could garnish my salary, take the house, the car, everything. That albatross doesn't drop from my neck until she's of age. I wish to _hell_ I never got that bitch pregnant".

The scene changed once more. This time, in the lavish offices of some major corporation. Seated across the desk was a younger version of her grandmother, before her hair started going gray.

"I hate to see you go, to throw away a successful career. You were on the fast track to a vice presidency. It really is a shame".

"I told you, now that my daughter is divorced, and with a young child, who will take care of her?"

Ruki found herself back before the Foo Dog. She dropped to her knees, and sat back on her heels.

"He never wanted me", she suppressed a sob. "I've never been anything more than a burden... They'd be better off without me..." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"You have been betrayed by every human with whom you share an unfortunate species affiliation", the Foo Dog explained. "They aren't your true family, Ruki, but if you join us, then _we_ will be your true family. The power that commands respect and devotion can be yours".

"How...", she asked. "How do I do that?", she looked up as she tried blinking back the tears.

"You first must enter into a contract with my Master..."

"What kind of contract? Why is that necessary?"

"Surely you did not think that great power is just given away, did you? If your ambition for great power is true, then it is not asking much for you to demonstrate that you have that ambition, is it?".

"What kind of contract?", she asked again as she stood before the Foo Dog.

"Those corrupt digimon who sold their souls to the Outworlders have desecrated our lands, unwanted and uninvited. They have destroyed loyal servants of my Master and didn't even download their data. They threw it away as if it were nothing!"

"You mean... Renamon and the others?"

The answer came with that wordless leering. She recalled some events she'd shared with them. Renamon's materializing in her bedroom. Saving her from Dokogumon. Fighting Allomon... It was the last gasp of her conscience.

"You want me to defeat them? Is that what this contract is?"

The Foo Dog just kept on smiling. She clenched her fists.

"I'll make that contract with your master!", she declared.

The Foo Dog leaped high above her: "Worship our God!"

Ruki seemed to be standing on solid ground. She felt the stones beneath her feet go "squishy", then the whole floor seemed to be "dissolving". She was dropping into what looked like a vast vat of red hot, molten metal. She screamed all the way down. As soon as she disappeared beneath its surface, the silhouette of a large, black bird appeared in the background.

**Chuchidarumon Village**

They heard it: the Iron Beast was back. Terriermon and Impmon went to see, as it roared into view. Impmon put the fingers of his left hand to his nose, the middle finger along his nose, as he began to concentrate, eyes scrunched up.

He reached forward with both hands: "SSSSSUMMON...", two thin, concentric rings of fire appeared on the ground before him. He lifted both hands high above his head. "...FLAME!". A bright yellow fireball rose from the ground, and hovered just beyond the reach of his fingers. He swept both hands forward launching the yellow fireball at the Iron Beast. It struck, tipped it over a bit, but otherwise didn't stop it or do any damage.

"Henry!", Terriermon called out.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... GALGOMON!**

He fired at the Iron Beast with his Gatling Arms, watched as the bullets ricocheted, doing less damage than did Impmon.

"Fist of the Beast King!", Leomon struck. He _almost_ upset the berserk motorcycle, but even that attack wouldn't stop it.

"Run! Get away! Now!", Guilmon was urging Chuchidarumon to flee to safety. "Oh shit no!", Guilmon called out, as the Iron Beast was headed straight for the kids with whom he'd been playing. "No you don't!", he said as he ran, then jumped onto the motorcycle. He steered it away from the Chuchidarumon kids.

"Guilmon's awesome!", Galgomon congratulated. He didn't know Guilmon knew how to ride. Takato felt grateful he'd taught Guilmon how to ride his bicycle...

"Something dropped off", Galgomon pointed to a small form on the ground.

"I'll check it out", Leomon offered. By now, Juri had heard, and had come out to see what was going on. She had out her digivice:

_Metalkoromon_

_Machine digimon_

_In-training_

"That's a digimon", she announced about the small figure with a flashing, yellow LED attached to the tip of its tail.

"You're all a bunch of damn fools!", Metalkoromon announced in a high pitched voice. "Though I'm grateful to you for saving me".

"We... saved you?", Leomon asked.

"That motorcycle: it's a terrifying thing", the diminutive In-training was explaining. "Once you get on it, you can't get off until someone replaces you. It takes over your consciousness, your freewill, and makes you do bad things..."

"Uhhhh, guys", Impmon was saying, "I think we have a problem here"

"That's like the tale of the Red Shoes", Juri was explaining. "Once you put on the red shoes, your body moves on its own, and you dance until you die. The shoes won't come off... then the story gets scary".

"Scary?", Galgomon asked.

"It doesn't have a happy ending".

"F'kin' wonderful!"

Guilmon was coming at them, he was growling, eyes glaring at them. The look of malevolence as obvious as it was uncharacteristic.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out, "don't you recognize me? My voice?"

"Wargreymon's Great Shield: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card as soon as he saw the red glow appear at the back of Guilmon's throat.

"Pyro Sphere!", he attacked his Tamer.

Galgomon, carrying the shield, was barely able to prevent Takato's incineration.

"Lead him away from the village!", Impmon urged everyone to follow him.

"I'll get on that bike...", Takato announced.

"You f'kin' nuts?!", Henry announced. "You heard..."

"But I'm not a digimon, so it probably won't affect me the same way..."

"Takato! You _can't_ know that!"

Leomon pulled his Roman sword from its scabbard, and ran straight at Guilmon.

"Leomon! No!", Takato called out. He could only watch, helpless, as Leomon leaped into the sky, sword over his head, as he prepared to slice Guilmon in half.

Leomon brought the flat of the blade down hard on Guilmon's head. The red dino dropped off the Iron Beast, rolled on the ground, but didn't burst into data. Takato ran to him.

"I just knocked him out", Leomon explained as he sheathed his sword. "If Metalkoromon was right, then the curse of the Iron Beast will be broken if its rider loses consciousness..."

"The bike!", Henry called out. The Iron Beast was dropping into a pit filled with molten lava that was opening up right outside the village. They watched as the tail lights sank below the red hot lava.

"Guilmon", Takato was checking on the crimson dinosaur.

"Takato?", he asked, "what happened to me?"

"You don't remember?"

"The last thing I recall, was thinking I had to do something to save the kids. Then I'm lying on the ground here".

"Is it finally gone?", Juri asked.

"It would appear so", Henry answered, "Takato was right to decide to help the Chuchidarumon. Sometimes the Noninterference Directive is not the best policy. They're safe because he cared enough to get involved".

"Takato, you're awesome!", Juri announced. She gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Ehhhhh... uhhhhh..."

"Takato", Guilmon asked, "why are you turning as red as me?"

("Shut up, Guilmon")

"Now we can resume...", Takato began to announce.

He was interrupted by an explosion coming from that new lava pit, which had grown rapidly to an unusual extent, creating a wide chasm. A plume of lava was thrown up. They were horrified to see the Iron Beast emerge from it as the lava fell behind.

"That damn thing...", Galgomon started.

"There's someone on board", Juri pointed out...

"And it's stopping", Leomon observed, "does this mean that someone has mastered the Iron Beast instead of being mastered by it?"

"Is that a digimon?", Takato asked as the black leather clad figure took off on the Iron Beast.

"I am Lilithmon!", its rider announced.


	18. Reunion

**16) Reunion**

Lilithmon roared through the desert night at a reckless speed. Her motorcycle was a street bike, not a dirt bike. That meant one patch of loose sand, something that appeared within the reach of the headlights, and a wipe out was a certainty, especially at the speed she was going.

She didn't care about that: "I have a new body bursting with a strength I have never felt before, and new powers that exceed anything Renamon ever had, but how will I really know unless I put it to the test... SOMEONE CHALLENGE ME!", she called into the night.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing", Koichi said, as he surveyed the broken sticks and tattered cloth that had been Renamon's hang glider.

"I still prefer smooth landings", Kazu said, as he picked himself off the ground, shook the sand out of his hair.

"Where do you suppose this is?", Kenta asked.

"Looks like we're back in the desert region", Renamon replied.

"I know it does, but is it the same one?", Koichi asked. "Back in the Material World, there are lots of deserts".

"Not 100% sure", Renamon explained, "but I'm pretty sure. I would suggest finding the place where we originally entered the Digital World, and hope that the others have the same idea. I don't know what else to suggest".

"How do we find it?", Kenta asked. "That looked like a pretty big desert".

"I thought I spotted something familiar before we crashed", Renamon said. "If we head in that direction", Renamon pointed, "then hopefully we'll start seeing familiar landmarks. That should help narrow it down".

"Could we get that lucky?", Koichi asked, "that the Valley of Gales wasn't that far off, even with the randomness of those data streams?"

"Anything is possible, and there's one way to find out".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"This is pointless", Henry was complaining after they had left the Chuchidarumon village.

"How do you mean?", Takato asked.

"We have no idea where we're going, and for all we know, we could be walking in circles. We're not gonna find Calumon or Koichi this way".

"How about that place where we took the pictures?", Terriermon suggested.

"Where we planted that flag?", Henry asked.

"Yeah".

"I don't know about you, but that sounds reasonable", Juri added.

"If they come back, it would be a logical choice", Impmon added.

"But how would they know?", Henry asked. "Even if they found the desert, it's so big... no guarantee they'd even know where it was, or how to get back there".

"True enough, but it's something to go on, isn't it?", Terriermon pointed out.

"It wouldn't make any difference", Guilmon added. "If they return to some random place, our chances of finding them are just as good by back tracking as they are wandering at random. Besides, it's the one location here that we both know about".

"Makes sense to me", Takato agreed. "If we don't find them back there, we can always try elsewhere later on".

"We'd be no worse off", Henry agreed.

"Moumentai! If it's our destiny to find them, then find them we will".

They agreed: back track.

That night, they made camp in a deep wind carved cave above the sand. Henry and Terriermon were standing watch, and it would be Guilmon's and Takato's turn, but Takato wasn't asleep. Another sleepless night, as sleep wasn't really necessary here in the Digital World, more a force of habit.

"I brought along a bunch of crap that I really don't need", he thought to himself. He was using the time to go through his back pack, to see what he could leave behind to lighten the load. At the very bottom, he found a patch made of duct tape.

"What's this?", he asked himself, as he was sure he didn't put it there. Peeling off the tape revealed a clear plastic bag with something in it and as folded paper.

_Dear Takato:_

_I don't know if you'll see this letter..."_

"From Mother?", he asked himself

_...but I regretted letting you go without saying goodbye. So I wrote this letter instead. The day you were born - I remember it perfectly - you were a big baby, and it was tough, bringing you into the world. But now you've grown so much, and I didn't realize it. As they say "time flies", and it sure does. I'm putting an amulet and this letter in your backpack. If you believe in it, I know it will protect you. A bit late, I know, but take care, and come back safe_

"Mom", he said.

"Takato, what's wrong?", Juri asked.

"It's nothing"

"You can't sleep too?"

"Kinda... I'm OK"

"You crying?", she asked, concerned.

"Why... would I?"

She didn't believe him, as she got up and went to see for herself.

"Is that an amulet?", she asked

"I found it... in my back pack", he explained.

"From your mother?"

He nodded.

"She must really care about you... right?"

"But I'm OK", he insisted. "I know we'll make it back safe. We just have to hurry up and find Calumon".

She smiled in agreement.

"Juri, I'm glad you got to be a Tamer and could be here with us".

"I just hope I live up to your expectations".

"I wouldn't worry about that, I'm sure you will... Anyway, time to relieve Henry and Terriermon... Guilmon, wake up", he nudged the crimson dino.

"Huh? Breakfast time?"

"No, Guilmon, our watch".

"Henry", Takato announced, "we'll take it from here. You go and get some sleep".

"I could use a few winks", Terriermon said, as Henry held him by the ears.

"Looks like you had a few already, Terriermon", Henry told him, "been sleeping on watch again, haven'tcha?"

"Moumentai", he said with a big yawn.

Fortunately, it was another night that passed uneventfully. Nothing more than the occasional rustling of digimon stirring in the night, but none came close enough to be seen.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Who're you, culu?", Calumon asked this new digimon he met while wandering the desert. "Do you have a name, culu?"

Doggiemon pointed his left index finger at him, while making the "Shame" gesture at him, firing off a string of pellets.

"Stop that, culu?! That hurts, culu?!"

Doggiemon simply laughed, then put his nose to the ground and began sniffing.

"What are you looking for, culu?"

"Cat!", he said.

"I'm not a cat, culu?"

"Cat!", Doggiemon insisted. He chased Calumon across the desert. A gekomon and an otamamon looked on, wondering what this was all about.

Doggiemon ran off, and Calumon wondered if this strange new sound might have anything to do with it. A cloud of dust was fast approaching.

Lilithmon braked hard.

"I'm looking for my friends, culu?", Calumon explained. "Takato, Guilmon, Henry - have you seen them, culu?"

Lilithmon glared back, saying nothing. She recognized the little cream puff alright, the little cream puff who'd embarrassed her in front of her mother back in the Material World.

"Can you give me a ride, culu?"

"Humph!", she snorted, as she gunned the engine and popped the clutch, deliberately throwing up a cloud of sand in his face as she roared off. Fighting that one wasn't worth the effort.

"What a bitch, culu?!", he said to himself. "There are all different kinds of digimon, culu?", he wondered to himself.

That left another problem: "Lonely, again, culu?", he said to himself.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Koichi, Renamon, Kazu and Kenta were assembled at the flag. They were pleased to see that it was still there, and that Takato had thought to make it, regardless of how silly the others thought it was before. It made a convenient landmark, but that wasn't going to do them any good, now that the winds had come up, and dust storms were making visibility difficult.

"Right Renamon", Koichi suddenly announced.

"Will you two stop with the telepathy already", Kazu complained.

"Yeah, we'd like to know what's going on too, yannow", Kenta added.

"We're gonna check out the immediate area, just in case Takato and the others are nearby, but out of sight through all this dust", Koichi explained.

"I would like you two to wait here, in case they come by", Renamon asked.

After they had disappeared from sight: "Every time they...", Kazu explained by forming a circle with his left thumb and forefinger, while pushing and pulling his right index finger through the center, "...their connection gets a little bit stronger".

"I noticed that too", Kenta agreed. "You don't suppose Takato and Guilmon..."

"He designed and materialized Guilmon", Kazu reminded, "that's different".

Koichi and Renamon were surveying the ruins they'd discovered. It was a field filled with monoliths, all either cubes or parallelpipeds, all carved to a precision that precluded natural formations. All were resting on their faces, except for one monolith that looked as though it was balanced on an edge. That wasn't the only unique thing about it: it had a doorway, though no door, that led into a hollow interior.

"Hey!", Renamon heard it first.

"Was that...?", Koichi began to ask.

"Kazu", Renamon replied.

"Hey!"

"And Kenta"

"I thought they were supposed to stay..."

"They were", Renamon agreed.

The two figures came into view, through the blowing dust storm.

"There they are!", Kazu announced.

"Glad we caught up with them", Kenta agreed.

"Didn't I tell you to wait until we returned?", Renamon reprimanded.

"After you left, we got nervous", Kenta explained.

"Now what?", Koichi asked.

The sand storm was growing worse.

"Now that they're here, we hole up in there, and wait it out", Renamon pointed to the on-edge cube.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Hold up, culu?!", Calumon called out. "That looks like fun, culu?" He just saw a dust packet roll past. He thought it might be a possible playmate, and curled himself into a ball, and began rolling after it.

Three Woodmon looked on from a hill top.

"What's that digimon?", one asked.

"No idea the other replied... Hell's he think he's doing?"

"Poor little bastard", the third added. "Desert madness", he explained. "Probably been out here all alone too long. That does things to your head"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Doesn't look like anyone's been here", Henry observed, as they returned to the flagstaff. The worst of the storm had passed, and they were pleased to see that Kazu and Kenta had done a good enough job in anchoring it that it was still standing despite the heavy winds.

"What do we do now?", Juri asked, "wait or move on?"

"Hold on!", Guilmon announced. He sniffed the ground.

"Find something?", Takato asked.

"I smell Renamon...", he continued sniffing, "Kenta, Kazu and Koichi too"

"Are you sure? Wouldn't that be from before?", Henry asked.

"Definitely not", Guilmon said, "these are fresh scent trails. I'm sure of it. They were here, and no too long ago".

"Can you track them? Find out where they went?"

"This way"

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the "ruins". By this time, the winds had died down, the air clearing.

"Hey, anyone here?!", Juri called out.

Koichi and the others appeared from the on-edge monolith: "Are we ever glad to see you!", he called out.

"Feelings mutual", Takato replied.

Both parties explained what they'd been doing while separated. The Valley of Gales and meeting Jijimon and Babamon, getting out with Renamon's hang glider. The good fortune to have been able to spot a familiar landmark that put them in the right direction.

The story of the Chuchidarumon, the Iron Beast, and the appearance of a new rider who, unlike Guilmon and Metalkoromon, wasn't possessed by its mysterious power.

Disappointment all around that no one had seen any signs of Calumon. So far as the main mission was concerned, they were no better off now than they were the day they started.

Koichi went deeper into the carved out cube: "What do you suppose this is?", he asked.

The interior walls and ceiling were decorated with carvings of more four-sided figures. Some alone, some connected by their faces, all of varying sizes. There was not a smooth surface to be seen.

"That's the hell of it", Impmon explained. "No one really knows, other than it was definitely built before digimon. How long, no one knows that either. You find ruins like these scattered all over the Digital World. As for what happened to their builders, no one knows that either".

"Odd that the interior isn't filled with sand", Koichi observed. "It should be full of wind blown sand by now".

"Could someone be maintaining it?", Henry asked, "come by to clean the interior?"

"Definitely not", Impmon explained. "Many digimon avoid ruins like these because they think they're haunted. Rumour has it that digimon go in and are never seen again".

"Then why are we..."

"Fairy tales and nonsense", Impmon said, "I don't believe a word of it".

At the very back, they saw a cubical box, the open side facing them. In distinct contrast to the rest of the structure, the sides were completely smooth, with the appearance of having been made from fired clay. It looked to weigh a couple of tons, at least, and yet looked to have been carved or molded as a single piece, as there was not the slightest trace of a seam to be seen.

That wasn't the oddest thing about it: it seemed to be suspended several centimeters off the floor.

"No sign Calumon was here?", Takato asked Guilmon.

"I'm afraid not. His scent isn't here".

"Any sign of other digimon?"

"None"

"What do we do now?", Takato asked as he leaned against the side of the open "box".

"Keep looking?", Juri said.

Takato nearly lost his balance.

"This feels weird", Terriermon announced. He'd jumped inside, and the whole box moved in response to his slightest movement. It must have been very precisely balanced in order to do that. Either that, or the thing really was hovering off the floor.

"Hey, that looks like fun", Juri climbed in and began to bounce the box.

"Terriermon! Juri! You shouldn't fuck with things we don't understand!", Henry reprimanded.

"Moumentai. Don't be such a stick in the mud", Terriermon told him.

"What if...", Koichi regarded the floating box. "This is a transport? It does look like a vehicle of some sort, doesn't it? Why call attention to this one monolith, as it's the only one that's on-edge? What if Impmon's tales of disappearing digimon developed from that?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe we should try it, get on board, and we concentrate on finding Calumon? If it's still functional?"

"And if it isn't, it could send you straight to /dev/null", Impmon objected.

"Then who's maintaining the interior?", Koichi objected. "Does someone come by every day to sweep out the sand? After that last storm, the inside should have been half filled, yet there isn't so much as a single grain on the floor".

The issue was settled, as they watched, horrified, as the clay "box" twisted and closed in on itself: "What's happening!", Juri screamed. It disappeared down a "tunnel" that should have been the rear wall of the monolith.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out.

"Juri!", Leomon called out. "I never should have... I should have stayed with her!"

"Shit!", Takato called out, "we get four back and lose two! Now we need to go looking for Juri and Terriermon? At this rate, we're _never_ gonna find Calumon!"

"Let's just wait and see", Koichi told them.

Two minutes later, the "box" was back, opened to reveal Terriermon and Juri, inside, safe, but both shook up a bit.

"Get out of there this instant!", Henry commanded.

"Moumentai!"

"Don't 'moumentai' me... not this time..."

"Hold on, let him explain, Koichi said.

"I remembered what Koichi said", Terriermon said, "and we concentrated on coming back as soon as we'd left".

"It does take you where you want to go", Juri confirmed.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

_Culu, culu, culu: Calumon has a dazzling smile all the time_

_C'mon feelin' real good_

_Let's go run outside..._

Calumon was singing this song he was making up on the spur of the moment. Having a new "playmate", even if he didn't know what dust packets were, did his spirits a world of good. He hadn't felt this happy since leaving the Material World.

He was joined by four of those white "owls" he'd seen at the Frontier. His spirits improved with these additional playmates.

"Culu! Let's sing it together, culu?!", he announced to the "owls"

_When I get worried about things from yesterday_

_Somehow I get lonely suddenly_

_Although the planter's little flowers_

_Are blooming in such a way_

_On the other side of the sea and the sky_

_Surely something is waiting..._

He felt so good that he didn't even know that the red triangle was glowing very bright. Something interrupted his song, as he looked back at something glowing with a bright white light that looked like a hemispherical dome.

"Shiny, culu?!", he said as he looked at the phenomenon he didn't understand, and had no idea he'd created.

The three Woodmon, though, certainly _did_ notice as they looked into this light: they all evolved into Cherrymon. Calumon released the Light of Evolution and didn't even know what he'd done.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"There! That little bastard!", Juri announced as soon as she exited the "clay box", she pointed towards a large dragon that was flying past with Makuramon riding on its back. She would never forget Makuramon, given her introduction to him back in the Material World.

"The Light of Evolution", Makuramon explained to his companion, the dragon Deva Majiramon. "The one who holds the key to evolution must be over there. We _will_ beat that goddamn Catsuramon to the prize, turn it over to our God, and be richly rewarded".

The Deva were all in cut-throat competition with each other for favours. Once they knew that the one who held the Light was running loose in the Digital World, they were all after it. Makuramon knew that they would take all the credit despite his having been the one who did all the reconnaissance in the Material World, and identified it as being the dim-witted, lazy, and apparently good-for-nothing digimon: Calumon. He was the one who brought it to the Digital World.

All that hard work would be for nothing if he didn't recover Calumon first. The digimon God liked it that way: it kept his servants serving with all due diligence.

Makuramon noticed something that could definitely ruin his prospects: "What are those Outworlders doing here!", he called out in rage. He would never forget the Outworlders who had tried to interfere with his plan to take Calumon back. He especially wouldn't forget that Leomon who nearly succeeded in delaying him long enough to prevent his escape, as the Frontier was stabilizing fast.

"Majiramon, drop me off", he indicated the closest mesa, "and get them! One fool can turn the history of a thousand years into dust!"

They watched as the long, skinny dragon disappeared into swirling black clouds of his own making.

"Run!", Koichi commanded. He wasn't willing to stick around to see what was coming back. Red laser-like bursts struck all around, right where they'd been standing.

"Kazu! Get yourselves away from here!"

Kazu led Kenta, Juri, and Impmon off some distance away from where the others were preparing to fight off this dragon.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S!"

_Guilmon Evolve! ..._

... **GROWLMON!**

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

... **GALGOMON!**

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

... **KYUUBIMON!**

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Plasma Blade!"

"Dum-dum Upper!"

"Foxfire Dragon!"

They attacked nearly at the same time.

"Dammit! We didn't do any damage!", Growlmon called out, and, indeed, they saw that they had not even slowed Majiramon down.

Makuramon laughed from his vantage point on top of the mesa. This shouldn't take too long.

Majiramon released a huge stream of bluish fire, incinerating everything in its path, coming close to incinerating the newly evolved Cherrymon who were just watching, and had nothing to do with it. ...

Impmon clicked the fingers of his right hand, producing a blue sphere, and the fingers of the opposite hand to produce a red sphere. These he combined into a single, white sphere.

"Pillar of Fire!", as he threw it in Majiramon's path.

"That oughta slow him down!" Impmon threw it between where Majiramon was attacking the innocent bystander Cherrymon, and where Growlmon and the others stood.

It also drew Majiramon's attention.

"This is _so_ not good!", Kazu said.

"Shit!", Impmon called out in frustration. "If only I could evolve!".

"If only I had a partner...", Kazu was stopped in mid sentence as a small ball of white light appeared before him. It landed in his hands, bursting apart to reveal the digivice.

"I guess we can...", he dug into a pocket for the cards he habitually carried. ...

"Dammit! We could use a Blue Card right about now!", Takato called out. "Why can't these damn things just stick around?" They watched in horror as the dragon was starting his attack run on the defenseless members of their party. ...

At first, Kazu thought he'd pulled out that bogus Blue Card he'd drawn. A second look confirmed that he had the real deal.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Impmon Evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

Deinondramon took off, trying his wings for the first time...

"Who's that!", Henry called out.

"Now we have to deal with _two_ of them?!", Galgomon called out.

Henry ran an Ident:

_Deinondramon_

_Ultimate animal digimon_

_Virus_

_His attacks are Raptor Slash and_

_Electromagnetic Disruptor_

"Raptor Slash!", Deinondramon attacked, two thin bows of violet struck Majiramon, blowing him out of the sky. They all had their answer as to whose side Deinondramon was on, but no idea as to where he'd come from or why.

"Guys!", it was Kazu, running towards them. "I digivolved Impmon!", he announced, as he waved his new digivice.

Before the Deva could take off again for another attack run, Deinondramon grabbed his tail. As the dragon whipped around, intent on striking, Deinondramon grabbed Majiramon by the throat with the needle sharp teeth, rolled onto his back, and sliced the dragon's abdomen open. Majiramon burst into data. The fight over, Deinondramon stood before the other members of his group.

"So, you found your partner?", Kyuubimon asked.

"I guess so", Deinondramon said, "just lettin' out my velociraptor side". Impmon, being an anthro hybrid animal digimon, had a habit of doing that: attributing his quick temper and various misbehaviors, such as smashing in the roofs of those cars, stealing ice cream from a little girl, and attacking her father, or flinging fireballs at Janyu, on his velociraptor half, and the thoughtful moments to his lapine better half.

Deinondramon looked somewhat like a larger, scaly, version of Dorugamon. Though without the white, as he was a uniform purple that matched Impmon's purple fur, same mammalian, emerald green eyes. The neck was longer than Dorugamon's, the head thinner with longer jaws filled with sharp teeth. The tail accounted for almost half of the total length, over twelve feet, thick at the base, tapering to an arrowhead like tip made of silver, with a red cloth tied around it: Impmon's bandanna. The clawed wings covered with purple feathers. The middle toes of the hind feet sporting a large, sickle-shaped claw that could be used as is, or to launch off an energy attack.

"I'm pleased to see my advice wasn't wasted on you after all", Kyuubimon told him.

"Welcome to the club", Takato said, "And your timing couldn't've been better".

"I knew you would do it!", Juri congratulated and gave Kazu a hug.

"The only one left out...", Kenta thought to himself. "I'm sure you'll find your partner soon", Juri told Kenta, as if she knew what he was thinking.

"Funny how that works out", Kazu said, "I came looking for a partner, and he was here all along".

"I'd almost given up hope", Deinondramon said, "of finding a copacetic Tamer". He devolved back to Impmon.

"Where'd that damn monkey go?", he asked.

"Got the hell out of here when he saw that dragon get whacked?", Koichi speculated.

They looked all around for Calumon, but came up with nothing.

"I was _certain_ he'd be here!", Takato said. "We all saw it: that strange glow, and Majiramon and Makuramon were homing in on it... You don't suppose he... got him again?"

"He could have, if he sent Majiramon as a diversion", Henry speculated.

"That would make sense, except for one thing", Juri added. "I saw him on that mesa, watching".

"I saw him too, like he was just standing there, watching the show", Kenta confirmed. "He didn't look to be in any hurry to find him".

"That makes no sense", Impmon said. "Even if he was certain Majiramon would win, it would be a good time to get him. Why would he waste the time and a good diversion? Win or lose, Majiramon would accomplish the same thing: delay us, buy him time to capture Calumon and put as much distance between himself and us".

"Unless, he was already gone?", Renamon added.

"But how? Where?"

"That chasm", Koichi said, "did he fall down there? If Makuramon had seen him fall... then he'd know there was nothing to look for here?"

"That's about where I lost his scent", Guilmon confirmed.

"So what do we do now?", Juri asked.

"Go back to the flag, see if he shows up... I don't know what else to do. He obviously isn't anywhere around here. If he was, he'd have no reason to hide from us".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Lilithmon stopped and got off the Iron Beast. She's spotted what looked like a bluish-gray termite hill. As she approached: "Rookie level digimon aren't much of a test, but you'll have to do. Ehh, Kurisarimon?", she asked.

The "termite hill" broke apart into a swarm of the small, blue-gray Kurisarimon. It wasn't very often that any digimon willingly came that close.

"Phantom Pain!", she took out a bunch. That still left quite a few, but she laughed between attacks that were thinning their ranks, and quickly. She was enjoying this, torturing them to death. Every time they tried to move in for an attack, they got wiped out. They tried getting behind, to blind-side Lilithmon, but that was an act of pure desperation on their part, and it didn't work. ...

Something disturbed Calumon's sleep where he'd decided to hole up. As he was chasing and playing with the "owls", he didn't notice the chasm until it was too late. He'd dropped into a forest somewhere, and wandered around until he found a nice patch of soft, mossy ground under the shade of the trees. It looked like a nice place, comfy and concealed. ...

Suddenly, Lilithmon watched as the remaining Kurisarimon came together...

"What? How do you evolve to Infermon?!", she asked.

Her answer was an energy burst that nearly took her off her feet.

"You are _so_ gonna pay for that!", as she ran at Infermon, leaped and did a back flip over the larger, but slower, digimon.

"Nazar Nail!", she struck it in the back. Infermon instantly began decaying until it was torn apart.

Lilithmon laughed as she absorbed its data: "This is my power! This is my strength!"

The victory celebration was prematurely interrupted.

"Catsuramon..."

"We have kept our end of the deal, now it's time you kept yours..."

"Yeah, I know that"

"If it's killing you want, you shall have it, but _after_ you have located those corrupt digimon. Now stop screwing off, and treat your God given mission with the seriousness it deserves!".


	19. Lost and Found

**17) Lost and Found**

_The Material World: Yamaki's Apartment_

Mitsou Yamaki was back to his old place, in front of the coffee table, near the window with its view of the twin towers of the Hypnos building. It was the same as every other morning since his dismissal from Hypnos.

Today, he was watching a replay of the rampage of Vikaralamon, the announcements of the evacuation, the vids of the devastation, wondering what went wrong, what he could have done differently. So far, he had not yet discovered Koichi's and Henry's logic bomb that he had compiled into the program.

"Would you clear the table?", Riley requested. "Breakfast is ready", she announced from the kitchen.

_Hypnos HQ_

"This equipment should be operated by qualified personnel only", the government representative was saying. "It was my understanding that that was the agreement for the authorization to restart".

"It was just a matter of time until the one who originally approved it lost his privileged position", Yamaki's replacement was explaining. "Even though this facility was responsible for a major incident, the government still believes it can serve a valuable purpose. That is why we are testing it. You understand this, correct?"

"Hypnos ready to go on-line", one of the techs called out.

"Alright! Put us back on-line", he ordered.

The various techs began rebooting the Hypnos subsystems. The Hypnos welcome screen appeared on the main monitor.

_The Digital World_

The "weather" suddenly turned extremely foul. One moment, it was sunny with clear skies. The next, the lightening flashes crossed the Material World Sphere, the skies darkened until it looked almost like night, fierce winds blew in from out of nowhere.

"Juri!", Leomon called out as she was nearly blown off her feet.

"What's going on?!", Henry called out as he tried to keep Terriermon from being blown away. Kenta and Kazu were doing the same for Impmon.

"A data stream!", Takato called out, as one of those pink beams was headed straight for them.

"We have to avoid it!", Kazu called out.

"How..."

"Guys!", Guilmon called out. "Over here!"

He'd used his Rock and Roll Breaker to carve a niche into the side of one of the mesas. They made it inside just ahead of the data stream as it swept past.

"That was close", Henry stated the obvious.

"Thanks Guilmon", Takato told his partner.

"Never seen such a nasty storm", Juri said.

"We've been having them lately", Leomon explained. "There's something very wrong with this world. We never had storm activity like this until recently".

"Something wrong with the world?", Henry asked himself more than anyone else. He was beginning to wonder just who - and what - was responsible. He didn't like the answer he suspected.

"Koichi", Terriermon said.

"Huh?"

"There's something glowing in your backpack", Terriermon pointed out.

He had a look, and saw that the screen of the long inert hand held had somehow come on. He pulled it out of the net pocket, and saw that it had connected. He took the stylus and began to tap out a message:

_Sorry you haven't heard from us lately, but for whatever reason, we could not get a connection. Just wanted to tell you we arrived safely, we're doing fine, and hope to have our little friend located soon_

_Koichi_

_The Material World: Yamaki's Apartment_

"I thought you were gonna clear the table?", Riley asked as she brought in a tray. "What are you doing?", she asked as the ping sounded and the "You have mail" pop-up appeared.

"Mail?", she asked, "who's sending an e-mail?"

"Could it be?", Yamaki asked himself, as he clicked on the e-mail client.

"That's from Koichi", they both said together.

"Isn't that great?", she asked, "they're OK!", she paused: "And you?"

"I just got a lot more OK", he told her. He knew this could be his ticket back in: if he rescued the kids...

_The Digital World_

The storm passed as quickly as it had blown in, just as if it had never happened. They left the niche Guilmon made...

"What're you doing?", Juri asked Koichi.

"I lost the connection as soon as that storm cleared up", he explained. "No idea if Yamaki got it". He left to rejoin the others.

"Why do you suppose...", Henry began to ask.

"Pretty goddamned obvious, I should think", Koichi told them. "Nasty storms the likes of which Leomon says that are rare until recently, the comm connects now, of all times when it hasn't worked once since we arrived, given the time since we arrived, it all adds up to one thing: Hypnos fuckery. They got the goddamned thing up and running again".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Calumon stopped to take a drink from a stream. Several of those "owls" were accompanying him. Suddenly, they began to act strangely, excited about something... Too late did he see the flash flood that had apparently occurred for no obvious reason. It hadn't rained, there wasn't an upstream dam, nothing that could cause such a flood. It swept him away...

"What's that?", Kenta was pointing into the distance. Koichi had his field glasses out: "Looks like some sort of geyser, or plume or something... He couldn't relate this to anything he'd heard of in Material World deserts.

"Better check it out", he said to Renamon.

"Evolution time", she said.

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

"Be back in a sec", he said as he climbed onto the kitsune's back.

"What do you suppose could cause a jet like that?", he asked. "Wasn't a geyser; there was no steam, and no other signs of geothermal activity".

"I don't know", she replied...

"I'm scenting Calumon", Guilmon announced.

"We know, he was here before..."

"No", he said, "on the breeze... That way", he pointed. He's coming back with Koichi and Kyuubimon!"

"We found him!", Takato said.

"Really?", Henry said, "we _really_ found him!"

"Then we can go home?", Juri asked.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"Is Shaggai ready for testing?", Yamaki's replacement asked.

"Yes, it should be fine", came the reply.

"Make it quick, I have another appointment..."

"This is the first I heard of this!", the government bureaucrat said, "I wasn't informed you were going to test Shaggai! The risk... It's too dangerous!"

"I have authorization, please stay out of our way", Yamaki's replacement said with a characteristically arrogant tone. If they thought Yamaki was an overbearing asshole, they didn't realize how good they had it. This new guy was much worse. About the only good thing about him was he didn't have a Zippo that he clicked constantly.

As the new chief of Hypnos walked away, the government man took out his cell phone and auto dialed. He waited. He got no answer: "How long are you just gonna sit on your ass?", he thought to himself.

_Digital World_

"Calumon! It really is you!", Takato called out as he leaped into Takato's arms. "We found you! Tell us..."

"I think that can wait", Juri said. "He looks like he's been through a lot. He looks all worn out". He was already half asleep in her lap.

"Dammit!", Koichi called out.

"What's wrong?", Henry asked.

"Still deader'n a door nail", he complained. "I was hoping we could inform Yamaki, see what we need to do to return to the Material World"

"Heh, found you", Lilithmon told herself from a nearby hill top. With a twist of the throttle and a pop of the clutch, she jumped the Iron Beast to land right in front of the assembled group.

"Who're you?!", Leomon asked.

She just chuckled softly.

"That biker chick from the other day", Terriermon said. "I have a real bad feeling about this".

Henry had his digivice out, running an Ident. Terriermon was using his internal "digimon analyzer" to do the same. Neither one came up with anything.

"I'm not receiving her data", Henry announced. "So are you a Deva?", he asked.

"Who knows", Lilithmon said with a shrug.

Kyuubimon was running her own scan, and gasped softly as she took a half step forward.

"Oh no!", she said, "It can't be..." The images played across her imagination. One dominated: a blue heart torn in half.

Kyuubimon turned to face the "biker chick": "You are Ruki Makino!"

"Ruki", she chuckled, "is no more... I am Lilithmon"

"I don't know how you pulled it off, this evolution..."

Henry finally received the profile

_Lilithmon_

_Anthroform demon digimon_

_Mega, Virus_

_Her attacks are:_

_Phantom Pain,_

_Nazar Nail,_

_Darkness Love_

"Right here", she said, "you - all of you - will die"

This was made more malevolent with the calm, matter of fact, way she said it.

"Ruki got awfully scary", Guilmon said.

"The Digimon Queen?", Kazu and Kenta said together. "I do believe she finally out did Ryo", Kazu said. He couldn't help the tone of admiration with which he said it. When it came to the "Legendary Tamer", he was a big fanboi. Those rumours of his having disappeared into the Digital World after winning that card tournament, having defeated that year's runner-up, a younger girl, one Ruki Makino, it all began to look very plausible to him. If Ryo was also here, could he? Possibly?

"I always heard Ruki was...", Juri stopped herself from saying "a real bitch". "I had no idea..."

"If you are, then weren't you Renamon's friend? Why would you turn on a friend like this?", Impmon asked.

"It's nothing personal", Lilithmon explained, "I'm on a mission from God"

"Certainly not _your_ God", Impmon pointed out, "you're..."

"Human? Is that what you were going to say? I'm not. Not any more: humans were a big disappointment".

"I don't give a rat's ass who she used to be", Koichi said, as he pulled out a card and discovered it was a much needed Blue Card.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Kyuubimon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON!**

No sooner had she evolved when another "storm" struck. This one _much_ worse than the previous.

"On!", Taomon created the force field, as much against the storm as against any attack Lilithmon might launch.

"Dammit!", she called out, "I'll deal with you later!". She took off on the Iron Beast to get out of the storm area, or perhaps to seek shelter.

_The Material World_

"Bring Shaggai on-line", the new chief ordered.

This new guy hadn't been there very long, and they already hated him. Most of them were hoping Shaggai fucked up, so they could be rid of him.

He wasn't the only one to notice:

"Suzy?", Janyu asked, "what're you looking at?", he asked as he passed, seeing her looking intently out the window. He joined her. He was horrified to see the green lights projecting from the twin towers of the Hypnos building.

"What's that?", she asked.

"A bad idea, honey", he replied, "a _really_ bad idea"...

"The test should be concluding", the new chief asked, "so what's going on here?"

"Sir, we have a problem: Shaggai isn't shutting down".

(_"Shaggai engaging at full power in five minutes"_)

"It was supposed to shutdown automatically after the operational test!"

"We know, but something's gone wrong. It isn't auto-disengaging, and we can't stop it manually"

"Someone, do something!"

"I'm sorry, but it's out of our hands", one of the new techs explained, "this is beyond our experience with this system".

Janyu wasn't the only one who'd seen...

A roll away door opened: one of the few where his card key still worked.

"So you appear at last", the government bureaucrat announced.

"Tell your amateurs to get their worthless asses out of my lab", Yamaki ordered his replacement. "Then take yourself and get the fuck out of my facility... Riley, take over".

"You can't..."

"I suggest you shut up and stay out of the way", the bureaucrat told the new chief.

Riley had come along, as she was his best operator...

_The Digital World_

Something appeared just outside Taomon's force field. It looked like a foo dog, all dressed in blue and yellow. It launched some sort of sonic attack; the force field began to buckle. Henry brought up the profile, but caught just the name, Catsuramon, and enough to know this was another Deva, before Taomon's shield collapsed completely.

"Juri!", Leomon grabbed the girl, as the sudden exposure to the high velocity winds threatened to carry her off. Calumon went soaring, and Catsuramon leaped, caught him, and ran off. Takato, Henry and Terriermon were blown into a data stream.

"On!", Taomon generated another force field, but it was too late.

"Fuck!", Koichi said, "he's gone _again_?", he asked, not believing it.

"Taaaa-kaaaa-toooo!", Guilmon called out.

"Now what?!", Impmon asked.

"Hope to hell Terriermon can protect them until we find them, or they find us. As for Calumon... I don't know. That Deva's gonna take him straight to this God of his... We may never get him back now..."

_The Material World: Hypnos_

"Riley", Yamaki was saying, "try manual override on warp field generators two and four. Shut down the resonators. That should disrupt their operation".

"Digital field breaking up", she confirmed, "generators shutting down"

"Good, now terminate Shaggai"

"Shaggai terminating", Riley confirmed. The Shaggai welcome screen was replaced by that of Hypnos.

"Looks like we avoided a disaster that could have wiped out the data of every system that was on-line", Yamaki told the government bureaucrat. "East Asia won't be sent back to 1950 after all".

"I warned him", the government man said. "He assured me there were safe guards built in... I... don't understand..."

"There were safe guards", Yamaki explained. "It's just that it looks like something corrupted the program... That's what I was working on before the politicians interfered, and look what almost happened here".

"Do you know how it happened?"

"No", he lied.

Yamaki was actually suspecting that the latest failures of Shaggai were deliberate. What he didn't know was who did it. One or more of the Wild Bunch? Would they actually go so far to protect their precious digimon? He was certain that Shibumi was capable of doing exactly that. He also suspected Janyu Wong: would he do so to allow his son to keep his "pet", despite the fact that Terriermon was leading him into dangerous situations? He wasn't sure he could answer that with an honest "No".

_The Digital World_

Koichi and the rest of his party were on the move again. This time, without Calumon, Takato, Henry or Terriermon. This time, with no idea as to where they were going.

"Takato", Guilmon was complaining, "where are you?". The crimson dino had never been separated from Takato this long, in this manner, ever in his life, which was a good deal shorter than they remembered.

"Leomon", Juri asked, "what about Calumon?"

"I don't think he's in any immediate danger", he explained. "He's too valuable to them for them to do him any harm".

"Still, I wish we could hurry up and find him".

"Indeed".

"Hey Guilmon", Kenta told him, "why so down? _I_ could be your Tamer! How about it?"

"I already have a Tamer..."

"I don't necessarily mean forever, just while Takato's gone missing. How about it?"

"No, Kenta, and get away from me!", Guilmon began to run.

"C'mon! I can't be..."

Kenta was stopped in mid sentence as he saw Guilmon drop out of sight with no warning. He followed. Being that Koichi and the others were some distance away, they didn't drop until a few seconds later. They all found themselves dropping down another vertical shaft. Koichi, Renamon, Kazu, and Kenta took it in stride: they'd done this before. The others, not so much.

"At least we landed some place nice", Koichi said, as he picked himself off the ground. They'd landed in a temperate forest.

"Yeah, not like that Valley of Gales", Kazu agreed. "What the hell do you suppose happened?"

"I don't know, but it would seem we wandered into some sort of passage, or warp field, or some other unknown feature of this world", Koichi explained.


	20. Dropping in on the Gekomon

**18) Dropping in on the Gekomon**

"Are we closer to Takato... or farther away?", Guilmon asked.

"I have no idea", Koichi told him. "The Material World Sphere looks smaller here. That desert must be pretty far up. So far, the Valley of Gales and where ever this is look to be below that desert, if you can go by that. As for Takato... the random nature of those data streams... I don't know what to tell you".

"Leomon?", Guilmon asked.

"He said nothing I can disagree with. We leave it up to destiny".

"Orochimon! Show yourself!", they heard someone call out, and went to investigate.

This was an android digimon who was holding a small boulder over his head, ready to fling it into a large pond. The boulder landed, making a rather large splash.

"Who're you?", Juri asked, startling the digimon.

"You are more of Orochimon's agents", the android accused.

"Actually, we're not", Koichi explained. "We just arrived here, and have no idea as to who this 'Orochimon' is, or what this is about. If it isn't any of our business, then forgive the intrusion".

"Ahhhh... I see", the android replied. "I am the Andromon of Justice!", he introduced himself. "Orochimon is tyrannizing the locals, and I am here to liberate them", Andromon explained.

Just then, he'd gotten this Orochimon's attention, as a very large, multi-headed "snake" rose from the pond. Juri ran the profile:

_Orochimon_

_Ultimate_

_His attack is Ame no Marukumo_

"Gatling Missile!", Andromon fired two rockets at Orochimon. However, he somehow forgot to arm the warheads, and the missiles dropped harmlessly, undetonated, to the bottom of the pond.

Orochimon grabbed the android with his tail, and threw him hard into the side of a tree. Next, one of the serpent heads seemed to take an inordinate interest in Juri. Leomon jumped in front, paw on the hilt of his Roman sword. Orochimon decided to retreat, instead of attack.

"Hell was that all about?", Kenta asked.

"No idea", Koichi replied. "Just be thankful this Orochimon didn't attack".

Kazu and Kenta were checking the condition of the fallen warrior.

"He's in a bad way", Kazu remarked, though that was pretty obvious.

"We should do something for him...", Koichi was saying.

"Smoke!", Juri pointed to a small tendril of smoke rising above the trees. "Maybe there?", she suggested.

There were no better ideas, and Kenta, Kazu, Guilmon, and Koichi carried the stricken, though incompetent, hero wannabe. After a click or so, they came to a large house whose grounds were surrounded with a stone wall, and an open gate.

"I wonder who lives here?", Kenta asked.

"A home or a factory?", Koichi asked.

"Smell that?", Juri asked.

"What?"

"Fermentation", she explained. "My father's an amateur wine maker. They're making wine".

"Looks like Juri's right", Guilmon replied as he looked through a window. Inside, gekomon were mixing a fresh batch of mash, demonstrating yet another use for dust packets. They seemed to be having a problem of getting the dust packets mixed in as they insisted on floating. A series of pot stills was lined up along the far wall, accounting for the smoke they'd seen.

"That's right", a gekomon carrying a walking stick answered. "This is a moonshine distillery, and I'm the boss", he introduced himself.

"Can you help us help Andromon?", Leomon asked.

"Andromon?!", the Boss asked. "We refuse!"

"May I ask why?", Renamon asked.

"Hellsamatter with you?!", Impmon reprimanded.

"You really want to know?", he asked as if it didn't require any further explication.

"Humour us", Koichi added.

"This world was once so peaceful", Boss began his explanation. "Our days were filled with singing, as we gekomon love to sing. Then Orochimon dropped in, literally. 'Digimon can't evolve anymore', he said. Then he demanded that we provide him with booze, explaining that it was a substitute. If we kept him supplied with his happy stuff, he agreed to leave us alone. Ever since, we've been making him moonshine, and he's left us alone".

"So you built this distillery?", Juri asked.

"We gekomon love peace, so we make moonshine to protect the peace... Then this Andromon shows up, saying we have to fight. I told him we wanted no part of it, and that if he was so damned eager to fight, to leave us out of it. Every time he and Orochimon mix it up, they fuck everything up, and leave it to us to clean up his messes. We want _nothing_ to do with this trouble maker! Take him with you and get out!", he ordered.

"Look little guy", Kenta explained, "Andromon wanted the same thing you do: to protect the peace. You may disagree with his methods, but he still needs your help!"

"All we require is some moonshine and a few dust packets. We'll tend to him", Impmon told him.

"And since when do you impmon give a shit about anyone but yourselves?"

"About the same time gekomon lost their balls", he replied sarcastically.

Kazu grabbed the diminutive brewmeister by the forelegs: "We'll take him away, if you like, but can you spare a few dust packets and moonshine?"

"Fine", the brewmeister conceded. Perhaps he found Kazu intimidating?

Impmon poured the moonshine over the wounds.

"The moonshine helps prevent infection?", Juri asked.

"Yeah", Leomon agreed.

"And the dust packets?"

"For digimon, raw data helps heal damage", Leomon explained, as Guilmon stood by with pawsful of dust packets. These he applied to the injuries.

"Thanks, Impmon", Juri said.

"Even though Orochimon is so powerful, he still wanted to fight", Kazu observed.

"And for the cowardly and unappreciative", Leomon added with contempt.

It seemed to be working. Andromon absorbed the dust packets, but then devolved into something looking a lot like an old boiler.

_Guardromon_

_Rookie_

_His attack is Destruct Grenade_

Juri read off the profile.

"Looks like he'll be OK", Impmon explained, "though he lost too much energy trying to repair all that damage, and couldn't maintain the more advanced form".

"How long will he stay like this?", Kenta asked.

"No tellin'. Depends on how long he'd been Andromon, how soon he recovers the lost data. He could be stuck like this for a good long while".

"All we can do now is allow him the time to regenerate", Renamon said.

"We could stay with him awhile", Kenta said.

Just then, this Orochimon demonstrated just how fast he could move. He wrapped his tail around Juri, as she screamed. "LEEEE-O-MOOOON!", she called out as her partner gave chase. The others followed. He moved through the forest faster than they thought possible.

"JURRRRRIIIII!", he called back.

Orochimon was already in the pond, swimming fast.

"LEOMON!", Juri called again, as he dived in, and began swimming after her. He never stood a chance of catching up. Orochimon exhaled a plume of flame, forcing Leomon to dive to escape the flames. He watched the orange glow above him. He surfaced, Roman sword in hand, as soon as he saw the glow disappear.

"Leomon, I'll be alright", she called back, "my family owns a bar and grill, so I'm used to dealing with drunks"

"That's not what worries me", he said to himself. All he could do at this point was watch Juri and Orochimon disappear on his island base. Leomon couldn't swim nearly as fast as Orochimon, nor hope to match that attack, at least without endangering Juri in the process.

"What do you intend to do with me?", Juri asked as soon as they'd arrived on Orochimon's island.

He produced a large, shallow dish shaped cup with a narrow base: "Fill my cup", he said.

"What? You want me to be your barmaid?", she asked as she used a dipper to pour moonshine into the cup.

"This doesn't bother you?"

"My family owns a bar and grill", she explained, "so it's like being back home".

"I see... interesting", Orochimon said.

Two serpent heads reached for the cup.

"No fighting!", Juri demanded. "There's more than enough to go around, so take your turn".

"Turn?", he asked.

"You live here alone? You want company?", she asked.

"I'll go first", the central head announced as he took the cup, draining it in one gulp.

Juri made sure to fill the cup nearly to the brim, figuring she could get away if Orochimon was drunk enough. Each head took its turn.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

The others, Koichi, Renamon, Leomon, and Kenta were waiting by the bank of that "pond", which they'd discovered was really part of a river. Kazu and Impmon were looking after Guardromon.

"Juri said she knows how to handle drunks", Leomon was saying, "but I'm afraid Orochimon isn't like a human drunkard. This is something very different. I hope she's alright".

"Now what do we do?", Kenta asked, "find a boat? Build a raft?"

"No good", Koichi explained, "he'd see you coming regardless of which direction you came at him. Even if you tried concealing yourself as floating debris, he wouldn't believe it as there hasn't been any storms, and the water here is too calm".

"Then what?", Renamon asked, "we're not giving up on Juri, are we?"

"No, of course not..."

"I could act as a decoy", Leomon offered, "give the rest of you a distraction..."

"Sounds awfully risky", Koichi objected.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Orochimon..."

"So you're active again?", Impmon asked Guardromon. He saw that Guardromon also had green eyes.

"All systems nominal... Orochimon took one of your party?", he asked.

"Yeah, you know about that?"

"I heard everything you were saying... It's my fault... all my fault..."

"Nonsense", Kazu said, "you did your best against a nasty opponent, and with no help".

"Your name?", he asked.

"Kazu Shioda, and my partner..."

"...Impmon"

"Kenta Kitagawa"

"Kazu, Impmon, Kenta: I have an idea as to how you can recover your friend". He described his plan...

"Hey!", Kazu called out as he joined the others by the bank, "Guardromon says he knows how to rescue Juri".

They thought it over, and agreed they had no better ideas. The timing was right, as this day was the day the gekomon were expected to deliver another shipment of Moonshine to Orochimon. There was just the one devil lurking in the details...

"Guardromon! Get out of our way!", the Brewmeister ordered. He was big enough to block the path to the launch ramp, nor could they steer the carts laden with Moonshine around him, as the trees and bushes came right to the path itself.

"These folks need your help to rescue one of their own", Guardromon explained.

"Please help us", Koichi asked.

"Yes, please", Renamon agreed.

"We're begging you", Leomon added in a voice that made it clear he was not used to begging for anything.

"We can't do it without you", Impmon added.

"Please?", Guilmon asked.

"We need to deliver the Moonshine as we agreed to keep the peace!", the Brewmeister counter argued. "Now get out of the way!"

"So _this_ is your idea of peace?", Guardromon asked. "I always thought peace for the gekomon was singing songs. How much time do you actually have for living as you want, and how much do you devote to appeasing Orochimon? How long are you going to let that continue? What happens when he begins demanding three, four, or more barrels at a time?"

This, at least got the gekomon thinking and discussing the matter.

"OK", said the Brewmeister, "suppose we decide to help, and you lose? He'll kill us all! What do _you_ have to lose?"

"Orochimon has one of our party", Impmon explained. "If we lose, we lose Juri, and Orochimon wipes us out before he wipes you out. That's what we have to lose".

More discussions among the gekomon.

"What the fuck", the Brewmeister told them, "you only live once. What do you want us to do?"

"Begin by emptying these barrels...", Guardromon explained what he had in mind.

It was a very tight fit, hiding inside the barrels of Moonshine. This plan would get them to the island, unsuspected. Orochimon wouldn't be expecting these gekomon to be putting one over.

Eight of Orochimon's heads were totally passed out. Juri was filling the large cup yet again: "A little hair of the dog is good for a hang-over", she was explaining.

"Is that so?", he asked as he drained yet another cupful.

"Orochimon!", the Brewmeister called out, "we have fresh Moonshine for you!"

"Right on time", he congratulated.

Koichi, Kazu and their partners were the first ones out, as they could evolve their partners.

"So happy to see you!", Juri called out. "I've been giving Orochimon _lots_ of 'Shine to get him drunk!"

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Impmon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON_Ag!**

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

Impmon's Champion form looked almost the same as Renamon's except for the silver fur with a purple tint, a fashion accessory with alternating green and gray stripes, and orange foxfire.

"Ready?", Kyuubimon asked.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", they hit each head with two fireballs each. All of the heads except for the central head immediately evaporated into data.

"Something isn't right here". ...

"You _didn't_ make him drink all that Moonshine?", the gekomon Brewmeister asked.

"What do you mean?", Juri asked.

"The more he drinks, the stronger he gets!"

"I didn't know... I... think I did something stupid", Juri told Leomon.

"You couldn't know", Leomon explained, "that he wouldn't react the same as a human".

"That's unfortunate for you", Orochimon was explaining, "those heads you thought you destroyed? They aren't real". With that, Orochimon easily regenerated the eight heads they thought destroyed.

"Destruct Grenade!", Guardromon fired his version of RPGs.

"Pyro Sphere!", Guilmon fired at the real head, as Leomon drove his Roman sword into Orochimon's neck. That, and more Demon Spirit Fireballs had no effect. Orochimon retaliated with his attacks, spraying fire over everywhere, as the others kept just ahead...

"We're not gonna beat him this way", Guardromon explained. "You need to fight different".

"Fight different?", Juri asked herself more than him, as she pulled out some cards, and was fanning them. "This one..."

"Ladydevimon: digimodify!", she scanned the card.

The Light appeared all around Leomon, and his eyes turned the same sort of blood red as Ladydevimon's demonic gaze.

"Poison!", Leomon fired Ladydevimon's attack at Orochimon. This caused his own attack to backfire, turn all its power against him, as he exploded into data.

"Thank you, Juri", Leomon told her.

"We did it!", Juri agreed.

"You did it!", Koichi congratulated. "Helluva card selection", he congratulated.

"I never believed we'd ever be free of Orochimon", the Brewmeister told them. "You have our gratitude... And Guardromon, you can stay as long as you like... if you'll have us, I mean".

"I'll take you up on that offer", he replied. "At least until I can get back to Andromon. I won't blame you for what happened. It was my choice to fight him, after all".

Once back at the distillery...

"What will you do now?", Koichi asked.

"We still have the distillery", the Brewmeister explained. "We can always sell our Moonshine now. Why let the facility go to waste now that we have it? Right?"

He pulled out flasks of the Gekomon Moonshine, and handed out one to each of the visitors: "A small token of appreciation", he explained. "For the road".

"For the road", Koichi agreed, taking a swig... Not what he was expecting. Impmon tried some as well.

"GODDDD-DAMMMMM! If that don't put hair on your chest... Not exactly Tennessee sippin' whiskey is it?"

"I don't know what that is", Impmon agreed, "but it sure ain't!"

"Orochimon liked it strong", the brewmeister explained.

"The next thing you need to learn is how to age whiskey", Koichi explained. "Give it a few years in cask, and you just might have something here".

"What was Orochimon doing here in the first place?", Juri asked.

"He just dropped out of the sky", the Brewmeister told her. "With everything deteriorating, I guess he couldn't live anymore where he came from. That's been happening all over and at an accelerating rate. No one will tell us why. Of course, he decided to be a real asshole after he arrived".

"Now what?", Guilmon asked.

"Look for a passage back to that desert, hope Takato and Henry find their way back. I don't have any better ideas", Koichi told him. "One thing we can try is Yamaki's hand held. Maybe we can get a connection..."

He turned it on, and indeed, it connected.

_Mr. Yamaki:_

_We dropped in on a different region of the Digital World, and here we can get a connection. Sorry for the delay in contacting you, but it would seem that there are areas where there are connections and areas that lack them. So far, we're doing just fine, though we did have a set back. We lost Calumon again to Catsuramon, one of those Deva. He came during this nasty storm that Henry believes to be due to either Hypnos and/or Shaggai. Whatever you're doing, stop! It's fucking up the Digital World, and could very well be endangering all of us._

_Koichi_


	21. Shibumi

**19) Shibumi**

The data stream deposited Takato, Henry, and Terriermon in some sort of water world. They surfaced in an air pocket that looked to be a partially submerged cave.

"It looks hopeless", Takato was saying, "there doesn't seem to be any way out".

"If you're worried about Guilmon, I'm sure the others are taking good care of him", Henry encouraged. It looked like Takato was dangerously close to one of his depressive funks. Although Henry secretly agreed: this was looking hopeless.

Terriermon surfaced: "So how did it go?", Henry asked him. Terriermon shook himself dry.

"It's like a maze down there. If there's any way out, I sure couldn't find it".

"Did you find another air pocket, at least?"

"No..."

"I see..."

"What now?", Terriermon asked.

"Takato!", Henry called out.

"What?"

"If you want to see Guilmon again, we have to figure some way out. It won't happen if you just sit there feeling sorry for yourself".

"Sorry... you're right...", he paused to consider something. "What about cutting through the wall? But, how can we?"

"Let's try it!", Henry reached for his digivice and cards.

"That won't work", Takato objected, "the cards, digivice... were underwater. That probably fucked them up".

"We still have to try... Dorulumon's Drill: digimodify!"

It worked, and Terriermon got busy working on that wall.

_The Material World_

"We don't need an explanation! Just tell us where this 'Digital World is", Kazu's father was complaining.

"We'll bring him home ourselves", his mother insisted.

The parents of the Tamers were meeting with the Wild Bunch at a fancy hotel restaurant located at the top of a downtown hotel. The circular dining room rotated slowly, giving everyone a panoramic view of the Tokyo skyline.

"It's not that easy", Daisy objected. "You can't just book an airline flight".

She broke down in tears.

"Hang in there", another of the parents encouraged.

"it's alright", her husband was telling her. "At least he left a note... Still, if he'd told us, we could've said 'Good bye'"

"What do you mean 'Good bye'?", Victoria was saying, "Koichi and the others will be coming back"

"And you act like you don't even care! What kind of parents..."

"Settle down", Juri's father was saying, "Mr. Wong was going to tell us about Juri and the other children. He can't so that if you keep interrupting".

"I understand how you feel, Mr., Mrs. Shioda". Janyu offered. "I'm in the same situation as you are. My son, Henry and his partner went there as well... Anyway, where was I?"

"You were going to tell us why it has to be children", Takato's father asked, "Tell us"

"Allow me", Rob "Dolphin" McCoy began his explanation. "Even though we, as adults, developed digimon originally, the ideas for their forms and abilities actually came from my young son. So you could say that digimon were developed by children, for children. Digimon simply _like_ children..."

"Dolphin, that's nonsense and you should know better", Curly objected. "Who's playing the video games, drawing the fanart, writing the fanfic? How many in their thirties, forties, fifties, are doing that? How many adults expose themselves to the digimons' awareness? Damn few. That doesn't mean that there aren't any..."

"Then why in the _hell_ didn't any of you go!", Juri's father said. "_You_ created the damn things, after all?!"

"Mr. Katou, all of that is true", Janyu explained. "However, we were young comp-sci students. When our work didn't attract the attention and support we hoped it would, there were the demands of starting new careers, then starting families. We simply lost contact with the whole project. There was no reason we couldn't have gone instead, except we didn't even know digimon were in this world. It never occurred to me that Henry's Terriermon plushie wasn't what it appeared to be. Yeah, I thought it strange Henry was still playing with stuffed animals at his age, but if it helped with his obsession over that video game, who were we to complain? I didn't know about digimon until a chance meeting with Impmon, and it wasn't exactly a good introduction either. We would have preferred going in the place of our kids. It wasn't to be".

"Why are _they_ dragging _our_ kids into _their_ shit? Why can't these damn digimon show a little self-reliance?"

"As for why, they went to recover this Calumon, who controls evolution. Some nasty digimon who's been sending his Deva to attack the Material World captured him. If he can tap into that power, he just might make good on the threats he made on more than one occasion. I agree with their decision to go to try to recover him... Granted, I don't particularly like the idea myself, and probably wouldn't've given my permission, but looking back on it, they really had no choice.

As for the how, now that, I can't say. We're doing what we can to try to find the means to bring them back, defeat this threat".

_The Digital World: Water Space_

"Oh hell!", Terriermon called out, as a torrent of water poured through the hole he'd made.

"Yukidorumon's Absolute Zero Punch: digimodify!", Henry scanned the card that allowed Terriermon to form an ice plug.

"That was close", Henry said.

"So we're surrounded by water?", Takato asked. "Maybe another card... I don't understand", Takato said. "I was _sure_... I mean, they're not waterproof, are they? Certainly not the cards even if the digivices are?"

"I hadn't thought of that", Henry told him, "unless...". He went to the water's edge, and scooped up a handful. "What if we only _think_ the water's wet?"

"Huh?", Takato asked.

"We see the water, and accept what our senses tell us is the reality of this world, but that's not right. Isn't this a world of form without substance? Isn't it composed of pure data? We accept the wetness of the water because that's what we expect...", he recalled an episode of _Star Trek_ that involved a similar situation.

"So you mean I got wet because I thought I would?", Terriermon asked.

"I believe so", Henry theorized. "Maybe...", he wondered.

"What are you thinking?", Takato asked.

"I'm going to try something", he said as he dived in.

"...297... 298... 299... 300", Takato was counting off approximate seconds. This made nearly five minutes. No way could he stay underwater that long... "Henry?", he asked.

A few seconds later, Henry surfaced, and climbed out: "Feel my clothes, my hair", he requested.

"Dry", Takato observed. "So that means..."

"You can't drown unless you think you will. Of course, you must not have any doubt, otherwise, it won't work. If you believe you won't drown, then we can find a way out no matter how long it takes".

"I don't know..."

"Takato, it's not like we have much choice. Terriermon's ice plug isn't going to last forever. Better we go now".

"Moumentai!", Terriermon encouraged. "Everything Henry said makes sense. And he was under for a long time, wasn't he?"

_The Material World_

"We're planning on contacting all our former colleagues", Babel was promising, "to research a solution to this problem, find a way to get the kids back. Tao, can we leave it up to you..."

"Excuse the interruption", there was a new arrival.

"Yamaki!", Janyu said, "what do you want?"

"There's something I'd like to show you... all of you", as he opened his lap top.

"Yesterday, over the Hypnos building, that was Shaggai. Haven't you learned _anything_?!", he accused.

"That wasn't my doing", Yamaki explained. He placed the lap top in front of Koichi's father: "Have a look at this".

"A message from Koichi?", he asked. "They're OK!", Doyle said.

"Why was it sent to you?", Janyu asked.

"Before they left, I gave Koichi my hand-held, so they could contact us".

"Are there any other e-mails?", he asked. "Can you send one?", he asked. "For all of us?"

"Let's see...", Yamaki began to type out a message...

_The Digital World_

"A reply?", Koichi asked himself. "Oh hell!", he said. "It looks like there's some sort of gathering, and all our folks are there. What do we do about Takato, Henry and Terriermon?"

"Let the others answer", Renamon suggested. "Best not to worry them; don't tell 'em Takato and Henry have gone missing".

Kenta, Kazu, and Juri wrote their replies.

"What do you suppose Takato and Henry would say?", Koichi asked.

_The Material World_

"Thanks for that", Janyu offered his hand. "We'd appreciate your help".

"My pleasure".

"I think we can trust him", Babel said.

"Now if we only had Shibumi", Curly told him.

"So far, we haven't been able to locate him, I'm afraid".

"Not locate him?"

"No idea where he's hiding, or even why".

_The Digital World_

"Takato", Henry reprimanded, "you're not gonna drown. I'm not, am I, so you don't have to hold your breathe".

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out, as he dived to the bottom, and bounced up, doing a back flip.

Takato finally let out his breathe, and saw that Henry and Terriermon were right. It was definitely strange, feeling as though being underwater in every way, except for not being wet, and being able to "breathe". He copied Terriermon, doing a dive and back flip. Now, the only question was how to find some way out...

"What's that?", he asked.

They'd come to a wall, with a barely visible, though definite, circle inscribed on it. It looked too perfect to be natural.

"Door of some kind?", Henry speculated.

"Then open it?"

They swam to the door, but it wasn't opening.

"Stand aside", Terriermon ordered, as he ran into it hard enough to cause it to swing open. The rush of water pulled them through.

They met their first underwater digimon...

_Otamamon_

_In-training amphibious digimon_

Henry ran a profile. They were like small, blue tadpoles in appearance. They swam off, but something else was arriving.

_Hangyomon_

_Anthro beast digimon_

_Ultimate_

The first thing he did was skewer Takato's backpack with a hand held harpoon attached to a cord, the same type of harpoon used for fishing.

"Why are you attacking us?!", Henry demanded.

He'd retrieved his harpoon and threw it at Terriermon, who dodged.

"Stop!", Terriermon demanded, as Hangyomon hit him, sending him flying.

He then attacked Henry, who, at first, tried swimming away, though he was at a tremendous disadvantage. He dodged the harpoon, and put to good use the martial arts skills he was learning. A kick disarmed him, and Takato caught the harpoon.

"Good going, Henry!", he encouraged.

Henry delivered a couple more kicks, then got Hangyomon in a head lock, and rammed his head into a rock.

"Awesome!", Terriermon complimented. "Now, my turn: Petit Twister!", he launched his attack.

"I give up!", Hangyomon called out, as he dropped to the bottom, and six Otamamon came to see if he was alright...

"You thought we were attacking the Otamamon?", Henry asked, incredulous.

"No", Takato said, "it's a misunderstanding", he explained.

"The sea is filled with predators", Hangyomon explained, "and we can't always take the chance of seeing who's a threat and who isn't. Their only defense, such that it is, is blowing bubbles... We're sorry", he apologized.

"Moumentai, moumentai", Terriermon replied.

"Now that that's settled, do you know where the exit is?", Takato asked.

"Exit?", Hangyomon asked, "where did you want to exit?"

"We came from a desert..."

"Desert?"

"A world without water", Henry explained.

"Such a world exists?", Hangyomon asked.

"This is the only place you know?", Takato asked.

"Yeah... but if there is an exit? Maybe?"

Hangyomon led them to a large pipe: "If there's an exit, then I don't know where else it could possibly be".

"I'll check it out", Terriermon offered, as he swam towards the opening.

"Don't!", Hangyomon ordered.

"Moumentai", Terriermon said as he disappeared into the opening. There was a crackle of electricity, and Terriermon came flying back out.

"That was rather shocking", he said.

"As I was about to explain", Hangyomon said, "there's that electrical defense, and no one can get through. I don't know why, or what it's protecting".

"We have to get through there somehow", Takato said.

Henry thought about it...

"You said the Otamamon make bubbles?"

"That's all they can do", Hangyomon confirmed.

"If they made enough bubbles", Henry explained, "then maybe we could get through? Would you ask them?"

The half dozen otamamon began to blow bubbles, in sufficient quantities to encase them within a bubble.

"Good idea Henry", Takato congratulated, "use a bubble to guard against that electrical defense".

"Bye, and good luck!", Hangyomon called after them.

"Bye-bye", Terriermon said as they disappeared down the pipe.

The inside of the pipe was pitch black, and looked endless. Then they saw a light ahead that grew brighter as they approached what looked like the end. However, it wasn't. This pipe connected to a transparent conduit of some sort.

It was one of many, all connected to an assortment of nodes that filled the strange space. Except for the occasional dust packet drifting past, they saw no other signs of life or occupation. At least nothing that could pose a threat.

"Now what?!", Takato asked. "How in the hell do we know which one to take? What if there are more electrical barriers?"

"Moumentai".

They couldn't tell if these nodes were filled with air or water. As soon as they entered the node, the bubble burst. It was filled with water.

"Now where?", Takato asked.

"Follow them?", Henry pointed to several owl-like creatures who were "flying" past. They had no better idea.

Something began to appear ahead, at first indistinct. As they got closer, it was a library that looked like it was straight out of 1900 that was just suspended with nothing to support it. Arched, leaded and stained glass windows, red brick construction, with stone steps from a nonexistent sidewalk up to a stone porch. It obviously had two stories, with a central spire over the front doors that looked like polished oak. Terriermon pushed open the doors, and they stepped through a wall of water that defied every law of hydrodynamics, as it didn't immediately flood in.

The interior was completely dry, even with that slightly musty old book smell. Lines of shelves packed with books. Fresh flowers in planters, interior lit by candle light. It looked as if no one had been here in a very long time, if ever. No librarian on duty.

"Who's maintaining it, and what is a library doing here?", Takato asked.

"No idea", Henry replied.

They climbed a staircase to an upper level. There, they discovered a sliding door that opened into a large lecture hall. The contrast couldn't be greater, as this lecture hall was lit by fluorescent lighting and looked a good deal more modern than the part of the library they'd just left.

There were two distinguishing features about this lecture hall: from the ceiling was suspended a much larger representation of their digivices; at the podium was a man, maybe late thirties, early forties, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, wearing a baseball cap over uncombed locks. He was slumped over the lectern, sound asleep, as if cat napping before his class or audience arrived.

"Excuse me", Henry called out, "sorry to disturb you, but would you please wake up?"

The ball cap wearing, bearded gentleman looked up through one eye: "You guys sure look solid", he said.

"And you're looking a bit transparent", Takato observed.

He held up a hand: "So it would seem", he said as though there were nothing unusual about this.

"Who are you? Are you human? How long have you been here?", Henry asked.

"Who am I? Goru Mizuno, Shibumi to my friends. Am I human? Yes. How long... I wonder", he said as he sat up, taking off the cap.

"How did you get here?", Henry asked.

"I could ask you the same thing", he said as he placed his hands under his chin, "how did you get here? No, that question is useless. I already know who you are, after all, I created you myself"

"What are you talking about?", Takato asked. "Are you still half asleep?"

"I am... actually it isn't just me. All of mankind is asleep. When we wake up, it'll be time for a new evolution"

"That's crazy talk; are you fucked up on drugs or something?", Takato asked.

"You wouldn't happen to be one of my father's old colleagues? He used to be a part of the Wild Bunch: Wong, Janyu Wong", Henry asked.

"Tao? You're Janyu's son? Good memories, good times".

"And I'm Terriermon", Terriermon introduced himself.

"I'm Takato Matsuda".

"Matsuda? I don't recall anyone by that name... high school, maybe... Oh well, never mind. After all, I'm only dreaming"

Two of those bird-like critters they followed to the library flew past: "Those are kinda cute, what are they?", Takato asked.

"I really don't know...", Shibumi started.

"They're not digimon?", Henry asked.

"Definitely not: they're something else - a type of artificial life that evolved completely independent of digimon. They were here first, that much I know. They have a language all their own that has, so far, defied all attempts at translation. I've tried, the digimon have been trying for a long time, but, so far, no one has had any success. For lack of a better term, I call then 'digignomes'. What I do know is that they can cross the Frontier, coming and going, at will. They have the ability to transform matter. Have you ever heard something, and looked around and nothing was there? Ever just catch the briefest glimpse of something at the corner of your eye, only to look around and nothing was there? Ever put something down, and not been able to find it again, even a few minutes later, even though you were _certain_ where you put it? If you have, chances are you met a digignome and didn't know it.

There is so much we don't understand about this world. How long has it been in existence? Did we create it the century before last, when the first digital technology took off, and the telegraph spanned, first continents, then oceans, starting in the 1870s? Did it arise out of the telephone exchanges set up in the early decades of the 20th century? Is it the result of the growth of the Internet? Could the Digital World be as old as the universe itself, and our information technology is just now making us aware of its existence? If only I could understand the digignomes, may be I'd have answers".

"So they're living things?", Takato asked.

"What do you care if it's a living thing or not? Even the Earth is alive, you know. When you take an ecosystem for a living thing, then it doesn't matter if they are alive or not".

"Enough with that incomprehensible hippie bullshit, please", Takato asked. He was distracted: one of the digignomes was carrying something: "Blue Cards!", he exclaimed.

"While it looks like that particular data storage medium to you, all it really is, is an algorithm".

"An algorithm?", Henry asked, "Could you explain more?", he requested.

"I think Tao and the guys have long forgotten all about digimon. That's too bad. It's been my wish to see that digimon could evolve themselves far beyond human expectations. That algorithm I developed - that you know as the 'Blue Card' - was designed to strip off the limitations, such as the idea that digimon is an existence only as a program. Or the idea that the 'Net is just another mode of communication".

"We became Tamers when we used the Blue Cards", Takato said.

"Is that so?", Shibumi asked.

"Yeah, I scanned my Card Fighter score keeper with a Blue Card, and it changed into a digivice". Takato pulled it out and showed it to Shibumi: "This one, to be exact. Those cards also work for something called 'Matrix Evolution', that takes our partners to their Ultimate levels".

"They were designed to do just that: take off limitations. It was digignomes who recreated your score keeper as a digivice. That is part of their natural abilities, to transform matter. How they manage to do that, well, that's a whole 'nother story".

"Oh, what happened?", Terriermon asked, as a digignome landed on his head.

"Since they don't speak our language, they communicate through sign and body language. If I could understand better, things would become clearer to me".

Two of the digignomes took hold of Takato's digivice: "Huh? What're ya doin?", He asked. They set it up in front of him, and it began to project an image onto the green board behind the lectern.

"That's the picture I drew", Takato said as the digivice projected his first crude sketch of Guilmon. As he watched, a collection of dust packets covered the image. Next, Guilmon's outline appeared, then filled in with ones 'n' zeros. More details appeared, until the figure of Guilmon was complete, including various views, much like a CAD program might produce.

"That's the digimon you designed", Shibumi explained.

"Huh?", Takato asked.

"That's Guilmon - he's our partner", Terriermon explained.

"That's their way of communicating. They must've gathered the data from dust packets to create Guilmon, using your drawings and specifications as the core program".

"So Guilmon is... just data?", Takato sounded disappointed.

"Aren't we all?", Shibumi explained, "You, me, Henry, Terriermon, Guilmon... aren't we all 'just data' (finger quotes)? What is DNA, if not another medium for the storage of data? Are the Digital and Material Worlds _really_ that different?"

"I never looked at it quite like that", Takato said, recalling something Terriermon had once said that he found nonsensical at the time.

"Let's get down to business", Henry said, "Do you know the way out of here?"

"Where do you want to go?", Shibumi asked.

"A desert wilderness where we came from, I guess, the top layer of the Digital World?", Henry suggested.

"No, you can't mean the top. That's the domain of the four Holy Beasts. You must've come from one of the lower layers".

"You mean Azulongmon and company?", Takato asked. "They protect the Digital World, right?"

"Didn't Guilmon tell us that one of them, the one that calls himself 'God', went rogue? Like Cherubimon?" Henry asked.

"Not exactly", Shibumi explained, "There _is_ some sort of factional infighting going on between the Sovereign. I don't know all the details, but it involves a difference of opinion concerning what to do about an old enemy that has returned to threaten the Digital World. The Sovereign would do _anything_ to survive, and I suppose the one calling himself 'God' has run out of patience with his colleagues. He may indeed be acting on his own, without the approval of the others, but it's not a coup. He wants to hurry up evolution to prepare to counter this threat. That's what I've been able to gather, but I'm sure I haven't gotten all the details right".

"What enemy?", Henry asked.

"Now that I do not know".

With that, the digivice model hanging from the ceiling activated: a hatch opened, a beam of light shone on Takato, Henry, and Terriermon. They felt themselves being lifted towards the open hatch.

"Aren't you coming?", Terriermon asked Shibumi.

"If you want to sit, you sit. If you want to sleep, you sleep", he replied as he returned to resting his head on his arms to continue his cat nap.

Once they were on board, the ceiling above them opened, and the digivice shaped vehicle rose through it, as the water above, once again, defied hydrodynamics and did not flood into the lecture hall below.

"Takato", Henry encouraged, "you'll see Guilmon soon".

"It's not that", Takato explained. "I'm getting sick and tired of all this bullshit..."

"Moumentai!"

"Don't 'moumentai' me...", Takato reprimanded.

"What is it?", Henry asked.

"Look around you", he explained, "there's no cockpit, no navigation, no nothing... Haven't you noticed? We're being played here, and I don't like it one bit. Where in the hell is this thing taking us? For what purpose? Haven't you noticed? How convenient it was to step off that clay cube and just then Makuramon went flying by? How convenient it was to just run into Hangyomon, who just happened to know how to get us out? You saw that node? It had about a bazillion conduits connected to it, and we just _happen_ to pick the one that brought us to that library where one of your father's old colleagues just happened to be waiting for us? What's he doing here anyway? Like Koichi would say, that's hitting the lottery kind of luck. Something's going on here, and I damn well want to know what it is!"

"Moumentai! We'll find out when we're meant to find out".

"I think he's right about that", Henry explained. "Yeah, I noticed the 'coincidences' (finger quotes) too, and you're right: they are a little too coincidental. There's some providence at work here..."

"Like what?!"

"The digignomes, perhaps..."

"If they want something, then why don't they come out with it? Why are they fucking with us?"

"Maybe they can't do anything else? Shibumi said they had some unusual abilities; he didn't say they were omnipotent. Maybe they have another purpose..."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, how about how we've all learned to work together? Before, would you imagine yourself working with someone like Koichi? Could you imagine that someone _twice_ our age would bother to give us the time of day? If they're delaying, that would be a very good reason, don't you think?"

"I suppose so... but I still don't like being taken on rides to God knows where, and for God knows what..."

"Moumentai! I'm sure we're going exactly where we need to be".

"I think that's the best way to look at it", Henry agreed. "What other choice do we have?"


	22. Enter Suzy

**20) Enter Suzy**

Calumon found himself in a much more secure cage. This one, a heavy steel sphere that he couldn't possibly break out of, not like the bird cage Makuramon had him in the first time. He saw that he was being transported over a wide lake, towards a tall building and a red glow on the horizon.

"Culu?", he had no idea where he was going, or for what purpose. That made two distinctly unfriendly digimon who were after him, talking about something of which he had no knowledge or understanding.

_The Material World_

It was cleaning day, and Suzy Wong was bored. She sat on the couch, watching a flock of pigeons fly past the window. She was doing what her mother told her: staying out of the way, but that was no fun at all. With Henry and Terriermon gone, her older brother and sister off to school, she had nothing to do. She slumped to the floor, face down, legs extended over the couch.

Her mother was dusting and polishing the floor: "Suzy! What are you doing?", she asked, as she paused.

"I'm playing Terriermon".

"That's nice, but get up off the floor".

"Help me up".

"You can get up".

"No I can't, I'm Terriermon now. Mommy: help me up".

"I'm busy, honey. Why don't you go play outside?"

Fortunately for her, the phone rang, saving her from dealing with this childish nonsense.

"It's no fun without Henry and Terriermon", Suzy told herself, as her mother had already left the room.

Janyu Wong arrived: "Suzy, what's wrong?", he asked.

"Terriermon..."

"Huh?", he asked.

"I'm Terriermon now", she explained. She looked up, a look in her eye told him that said she was scheming: "Were you reading the newspaper in the shitter again? Mommy would scold you if she somehow found out about that". She next sprang her terms of blackmail: "Play with me?"

"Honey, I would appreciate it if you would say 'bathroom' instead of that term you just used..."

"Why, daddy? You and Henry say it..."

"I know. Henry shouldn't say it either, and neither should I. I suppose there's nothing we can really do about that, it will be said and you will hear it again, but it still doesn't sound nice. So would you please not say that again? For me?"

"OK, I won't", she promised.

This bit of childish blackmail worked. Janyu took his youngest to the park. There, she ran around the reflecting pool. She chased some pigeons. It was much better than sitting bored at home while her mother did the cleaning. It was also a blessed relief to her mother, now that she could concentrate on her work, undisturbed.

Suzy was playing on a model of a blue whale, as Janyu watched her play. He was standing beside the reflecting pool.

A reflection caught his eye: "Yamaki! What brings you here?", Janyu asked.

"I'm sorry to be disturbing you on your day off. I called your home, and your wife said I might find you here", he apologized. "There's something I really need to ask you".

Suzy noticed a blimp flying past, bearing some sort of advertisement she paid no attention, so fascinated she was by this rarely seen flying machine. She was looking in the direction of the mid-morning Sun when she noticed something strange, the sunlight suddenly seemed to become much brighter for a moment. Perhaps she'd ask her father later.

She was sitting between Yamaki and her father on one of the benches.

"From what I gather, Shibumi was something of a heretic, even among the Wild Bunch, wasn't he?"

"We were trying to develop artificial life, though of a form no one had ever attempted before. Our goal was artificial life that could develop itself through a process of evolution analogous with real life, though at a much faster rate. We were young, idealistic, and had way more enthusiasm than practical experience. It was never our intention to play God..."

"However Shibumi had different ideas, didn't he?"

"You know, I remember his saying that there was no meaningful difference between the Material World and the Digital World...".

"I'm gonna play over there", Suzy announced.

"That's fine, honey, just don't go wandering off", Janyu told her as she headed for the bouncy animals mounted on coil springs.

"Was he right?", Yamaki asked.

"I'm not so sure... Given these latest occurrences, Shibumi may have gotten it right all along... One of my son's cards contained Shibumi's code"

Janyu happened to glance in Suzy's direction. She'd just climbed to the top of the slide instead of sliding down. That's when he saw it, very faint, but unmistakable: a greenish light seemed to envelop Suzy. There were ASCII symbols floating around her: "SUUUUZZZZY!"

Suzy looked around, confused as to what she was seeing: "Uhhhh...?", she asked herself.

"Janyu! Watch out!", Yamaki called out, as they ran to the slide. Janyu and Yamaki made the same mistake: trying to climb up the slide, following Suzy, instead of going around to the ladder. Janyu slipped, and both he and Yamaki fell back to the ground. As they watched, Suzy and the digital field disappeared together.

"Is it all my fault?", Janyu berated himself. "Is it because of what I had been working on?"

"You saw what I saw: that was _deliberate_", Yamaki tried to reassure. "Your daughter was _invited_ to the Digital World for some reason. There's no chance that any harm will come to her, hell, may be your son needs her there?"

"My daughter: she's still... too young"

Yamaki reached out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder: "Maybe that's why she's needed".

"What have I done? Is it because of what I worked on?", Janyu challenged. "Wasn't Henry enough?" How would he explain this to his wife, Suzy's mother?

_The Digital World_

Suzy Wong "materialized" in an unusual landscape. Unlike the Tamers, there was no long drop into the Digital World, although she did lose her footing, dropping on her butt.

"Where am I?", she asked no one in particular.

She looked around: the landscape seemed to be all one colour, varying shades of blue. The landscape was studded with sharp spires of rock of widely varying heights, but all shaped like basalt formations for as far as she could see. Some of these tall columns had fallen, breaking into rectangular blocks that stood by the stems sticking up from the ground. She looked up into a sky of an unnatural dark blue, the few thin clouds promising no rain. It was a desolation of sandy, rocky ground with not the slightest trace of vegetation to be seen anywhere. Did anyone even live here? She wondered.

"Is that the moon?", she asked herself of the Material World Sphere, even though it looked nothing like the Moon. "Pretty!", she decided, regardless of what it might be.

She noticed something run past her very fast: "Terriermon?", she called out. It wasn't, but she ran after it anyway, may be this was a new playmate? It out distanced her, and she saw it dive beneath some rocks: "I missed it". She never got a good look at it, seeing only that it was brown and furry.

"Huh?", she asked as she'd spotted a very white little critter that seemed to glow jumping up and down on top of a fallen rock spire, chittering at her. Four others came into view from behind the rock. It was obvious they were trying to get her attention, that they wanted something. Perhaps they would tell her where Terriermon was?

"They fly!", she said as they took off, circled around her, then flew as a flock in the same direction.

"Hey! Wait for me!", she called to them as she ran after them, She ran until she was out of breath, and could run no farther: "What was the point of that?", she asked herself, as she paused to catch her breathe.

"Hot", she said as she took off the yellow jacket she was wearing. She hung it on a nearby outcropping of those broken crystals.

Something bird-like ran off, the jacket over its head. She gave chase, and watched as it shredded her jacket.

"Hey, Mr. Bird", she called after it, "why'd you do that to my coat?!"

The kiwimon just glared back at her, then fired something at her. It hit the ground, exploded, and the shock wave threw her off her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?!", she reprimanded. "You can't bully someone smaller than you!"

It turned and ran off.

"Terriermon", she said, "where are you?"

She decided to continue in the same direction she'd seen the "owls" flying. She figured this was the best choice, in case they knew something. The landscape remained as bleak as ever; there was no sign of Terriermon or Henry, no indication they'd ever been here. Luckily, no more hostile digimon either.

"What are those?", she asked as she spotted some dust packets rolling her way. "They're pretty". She reached out to touch one...

"It shocked me!", as she tried waving the tingle from her fingertips.

"Terriermon! Henry!", she screamed out in frustration.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Huh? What was that?", Terriermon asked.

"What's up?", Henry asked.

"It's Suzy. I'm sure of it: I sense her presence".

"Huh?!", asked Takato.

"That's impossible!", Henry insisted, "Suzy is still back home, in the Material World".

"Not anymore. I'm _sure_ she's somewhere around here, and not that far off either", Terriermon insisted.

The vehicle banked sharply, nearly throwing Henry and Takato off balance.

"What's going on?", Takato asked. "Why are we changing course?"

"Maybe it responds to our desires?", Terriermon theorized. It wouldn't be the first Digital World vehicle that did.

"Then it'll take us to Suzy?", Henry asked.

"Likely, it will", Terriermon agreed. ...

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Suzy Wong came to something vastly different. This was a huge plaza of some sort. It was covered in dark red tiles, each tile easily two, three meters on a side, all fitted without grout, level. It could not have possibly been natural. As she listened: "Water", she said. She ran across the red tile until she came to the source of the sound. It was an enormous waterfall coming from the opposite side of a vast expanse that made an artificial canyon.

"No guard rail?", she said, "I could have fallen!".

She looked down, but the depths of this artificial canyon was lost in the rising mist. Perplexed, she looked around, spotting the twin bows of a suspension bridge. It looked to be a couple of kilometers away, but the walk would be farther, as the canyon curved in a gentle arc. There was no other way across that she could see, and if she were to go any farther, that would have to be it.

An anthro rabbit stood in front of the bridge. Its body grossly disproportionate. Two thirds of the height was long legs. Even though it stood erect, its hands nearly reached its ankles. The fur was gray, except for the yellow fur bisecting its head, and the pink tips of the ears. It was wearing white body armour with a gold crest, lavender pants, baggy at the thighs, and that covered the feet as one piece.

"A _big_ rabbit!", she proclaimed as she came to the entrance to the bridge. At first, the "rabbit" seemed not to notice, but then it looked down and glared at her. She smiled back. "Wow! This is great! I've never seen such a big rabbit before!". The critter was easily five times her height. "Hello!", she called out, "Can you hear me?", she asked.

The critter said nothing, but acknowledged her presence with a nod of its head.

"So you can hear me", she declared. "You can understand me?"

"You can go no further. You have to go back immediately!", he ordered.

"Back home? But how?", she asked. "Besides, what brought me here... I'm tired of talking with my head so far up, can you come a little closer?"

The critter did as requested, sitting back on its heels. Suzy did the same: "Tell me, where am I?", she asked.

"You're in the domain of the four Holy Beasts". That meant nothing to her, but she decided to let it pass.

"And what's your name, Mr. Rabbit?"

"I am Antiramon. I guard the Holy Beasts", he explained.

"So your name has a 'mon', in it too? The same as Terriermon", she pointed out. "I'm Suzy", she introduced herself. "Say, would you look for Terriermon with me?", she requested.

"I have my duty: I guard the South Gate"

"Pleeeeeese?"

"I have to guard the South Gate", he insisted.

Suzy dropped onto her back, kicked her legs, and pounded the ground with her fists: "I wanna see Terriermon! I wanna see Terriermon!"

Antiramon looked on, as he didn't understand Outworlders, and had no idea what she was doing.

"Let's go?", she asked nicely. She faked a temper tantrum. This had Anriramon rather confused. He allowed her to climb onto the top of his head, as she used his ears as hand-holds.

"We're so high!", Suzy proclaimed as he stood. A half-dozen digignomes looked on. He was surprised at her lack of fear.

"Maybe it's time you got down now?", he asked, but did not wait for an answer, as he flicked his head forward, tossing her off. He easily caught her. He studies the small figure he held in his hands. He poked her with an index finger.

"That was fun! Do it again! Do it again!", she insisted. This was definitely not working out as the rabbit Deva had planned. He put her back on his head, as he went off, all the while being attended by digignomes. Suzy Wong was delighted the whole time. "This is fun!", she declared. He was hoping they would either find Terriermon, or that she would get bored. Hopefully, his being AWOL wouldn't be noticed. He really didn't understand why he just didn't run her off and be done with it.

"I don't see this so-called 'Terriermon' anywhere", Antiramon said, "I have to go back"

"Nooooooo! C'mon! Can you run?", she asked.

Antiramon took off running at a tremendous pace. Again, Suzy seemed more delighted than frightened. What ever he did, this unusual little Outworlder put her total trust in him. He was not expecting this, as it went against everything he'd been told of Outworlders.

"Stop!", Suzy suddenly said, and he did. "You're really fast", she complimented. "Can you jump?", she asked. Without comment, he leaped. He leaped from the top of one spire to another. "Higher! Higher!", Suzy encouraged.

Finally, they decided to take a break. Suzy went off, saying that she was looking for something for them to eat, as she was feeling hungry. Antiramon took this as his opportunity to get back to his post. Hopefully, his absence at the South Gate would go unnoticed, he hoped.

He wasn't the only one who noticed. Makuramon was sulking among the rocky spires. He had failed to deliver the Light of Evolution. His worst fears realized, Catsuramon beat him to the prize, and took all the credit. All that hard work back in the Material World, the identification of the one who held the Light, his bringing it to the Digital World for Catsuramon to capture it: he was denied any credit for anything he'd done. At best, he had avoided Indaramon's fate for having failed, so he figured it was his partial success that had saved him from deletion.

"Is that an Outworlder?", he asked himself as he spotted Suzy. His prospects were suddenly looking much better. An Outworlder, especially one he'd caught in the realm of the Holy Beasts, had to be worth something when he made it a gift to his God.

He leaped from his perch, landing in front of Suzy.

"Mr. Monkey...", Suzy started.

"I want _you_ to come with _me_ now!", Makuramon made a grab for her.

"No! I don't want to go with you! HELLLLPPPP!", she called out as Makuramon slung her over his shoulder.

Antiramon heard. He turned back, running as fast as he could.

"This should appease my God", Makuramon was telling himself.

Antiramon suddenly landed in front of him: "Let the girl go!", he ordered.

"You can't ask me that!", Makuramon replied, completely misunderstanding the situation. Makuramon figured that Antiramon, like Catsuramon, was planning on robbing him of his justly won prize. "The Outworlder is coming with me. You should mind your own f'kin' business and guard the South Gate!"

Suzy finally wriggled free after biting the monkey Deva on the hand and ran towards Antiramon. He was perplexed by this, as he didn't figure that she would see a fellow Deva as a protector.

Takato, Henry and Terriermon discovered that surfacing in the water space also meant dropping from the sky and into the blue landscape. Perhaps due to the disorientation, and/or change of medium, the craft dropped at an alarming rate. It leveled off just in time to prevent auguring in, but the landing was still a rough one. The craft began breaking up, shedding data, as it carved a furrow in the sandy and rocky ground. Suzy watched as it skidded past, coming to a stop as the last of its data disappeared about a hundred meters away.

"That could've been a helluvalot smoother", Henry commented.

"You know what they say", Takato replied, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one".

Makuramon made another leap to retrieve Suzy, but Antiramon batted him away: "How _dare_ you attack a fellow Deva?!", he challenged. He still hadn't figured it out, still convinced Antiramon's only purpose was to turn the Outworlder over to their God for whatever reward he might receive.

"Suzy!", Terriermon exclaimed, pointing out the on-going drama.

"Terriermon!", Suzy greeted. She started running towards Terriermon, when Makuramon appeared, trying, once again, to catch her. Again, Antiramon batted him away.

"You'll pay for that!", Makuramon threatened as he threw one of his Primal Orbs at Antiramon, scoring a hit right between the eyes, felling the larger anthrorabbit. Suzy ran up to the fallen Deva.

"Are you alright?!", she asked. "Please be alright... It doesn't hurt... It doesn't hurt", she tried comforting.

As Makuramon moved in yet again, Antiramon sprang to life, shielding Suzy. Makuramon threw another Primal Orb, this one a fire ball, Antiramon dodged, but saw that the fireball was tracking him, as it turned around and came back at him. He transformed his hands into axes, and sliced Makuramon's fireball apart. Makuramon understood he was no match for Antiramon.

"I shall report your treason to our God!", he threatened as he ran off.

"You're strong", Suzy complimented. "Thank you for rescuing me from that nasty little monkey".

Henry's digivice could not pull up a profile. That meant one thing: Deva.

"Stay away from him! It's dangerous! He might hurt you!", Henry called out to his sister, as he ran towards her.

"Huh?", she answered her brother, not knowing why he would say such a thing.

Henry and Takato were brought up by the sight of something they never figured they'd ever see: a shining orb formed, and was dropping into Suzy's hands. As she received it, the glowing orb burst, revealing a digivice.

"No way!", Takato called out. "Suzy's a... Tamer?"

"Of a... _Deva_?!", Henry couldn't believe it. From what he knew of the Deva, they didn't _have_ partners, they didn't want partners, considered partnering with a human beneath their contempt. That's what Juri had told them of her encounter with the rat Deva: Kumbhirimon. As if that weren't contradictory enough, Suzy was seven.

"A digivice?", Suzy asked. She recognized it right off, as it was identical to Henry's, save for the different colour scheme. His had green trim, hers pink.

A red projectile flew over the horizon. A bright red light enveloped Antiramon. As they watched, the big bunny transformed into a little bunny. Henry brought up the profile:

_Lopmon:_

_Animal digimon, Rookie._

_Data type._

_His attack is Blazing Ice_

"I guess I've been demoted", Lopmon said.

Lopmon and Terriermon compared: "He has the same type of ears", Terriermon said. "The face looks the same too". Indeed, Lopmon and Terriermon were the same size, the same shape. The only thing that differentiated the two was the color scheme: light green markings over a lighter green background for Terriermon; dark brown with pink markings for Lopmon. "He does have me beat for horns", as Terriermon had just one whereas Lopmon had three.

"Lopmon!", Suzy gave him a big, smothering, hug: "We're gonna be good friends!", she declared.

"Big ears, big ears", Suzy was now irritating both Terriermon and Lopmon by pulling on their ears. It was something Terriermon had accepted a long time ago. "I wonder who has the longest ears?"

"What are Shibumi's digignomes up to anyway?", Henry asked himself. "_Why_ did they bring Suzy here? Mom and Dad are bound to be worrying: did they even know what happened to Suzy? He also didn't need this distraction, having to look after his little sister in situations likely to be very dangerous.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Calumon found himself dropping down a deep well. The cage he was in burst apart, as he dropped into what looked like a Florentine flask. It wasn't made of glass, but rather some sort of force field.

"Where am I, culu?", he asked himself, as he examined his surroundings. He still had no idea where he was, as he knew nothing about the Digital World. He still had gotten no explanation as to who took him, or for what purpose. He tried flying out, only to run into an impenetrable barrier.

He noticed something: a red tetrahedron that seemed to either be hovering just outside the walls of whatever imprisoned him, or maybe it was an image that existed inside the translucent wall itself. He could see nothing else in the surrounding darkness. He could not be sure. He went to take a closer look. The object or image was slowly rotating, apex down. He found it compelling for some reason.

"Huh, culu?", he asked himself. "I was here a long time ago, culu?", as he had a vague recollection of a memory he didn't realize he had. So far as he knew, he had always been in the Material World. Now he doubted this, and with that doubt came a larger doubt as to who and what he was. This frightened him.

"No! I am digimon, culu?! And I have attacks to get out of here, culu, like every other digimon, culu?! I am very, very strong, culu?!" He tried to get out again, but nothing had changed. He still couldn't jump out.

"Calumon Strong Beam!", he produced no energy beam to shatter his prison.

"More or Less Powerful Attack!", nothing happened.

The clear barrier remained as intact, and as impenetrable, as always.

"Oh, culu? Culu?", as he looked up into the blackness whence he'd fallen.


	23. An Epic Battle

**21) An Epic Battle**

They made it back to the desert zone, and decided the best thing was to return to the flagstaff. It worked before, and that would be the logical place for Henry, Takato, and Terreirmon to go.

Up ahead, something was emerging from underground, First, two large claws appeared, then pulled the rest of the serpent-like body up. It rose on powerful wings.

Koichi ran a profile

_Megadramon_

_Ultimate, Virus_

_Darkness dragon digimon_

_Attacks are Ultimate Slicer and Genocide Attack_

"This isn't looking good", he said.

"I will load you all!", he announced.

"Why?", Koichi asked, "why are you attacking? We didn't do anything to you!"

"Load the data of digimon with Tamers, and I get to go to the Material World!"

"Load us? We'll load you!", Koichi countered. "Everyone!"

"Super Evolution Plug-in S: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

_Impmon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON_Ag!**

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", Kyuubimon attacked. Megadramon fired something that sent the Demon Spirit Fireballs right back at her. Kyuubimon had to dodge her own attack.

"Foxfire Dragon!", Kyuubimon_Ag attacked, chasing down the Megadramon. This time, it fired cluster bombs that exploded all around the foxfire dragon. Kyuubimon_Ag dropped.

"Impmon!", Kazu called out. He ran to where he was dropping like a rock.

As Megadramon was closing in for the kill: "Fist of the Beast King!", Leomon attacked.

"Pyro Sphere!", Guilmon attacked at the same time.

This time, both hit Megadramon, turning him back, though setting himself up to begin another attack run.

"Dammit!", Kyuubimon_Ag swore, "he's a powerful one..."

"If only we could get to Ultimate!", Kazu said.

"If only you could evolve!", Kenta said to Guilmon.

"TA-KA-TO!", he called out in desperation.

_Guilmon evolve! ..._

**... GROWLMON!**

Calumon had sensed his urgency, even without the digivice.

"OK, all together now!", Koichi called out, "before he can attack again!"

"Foxfire Dragon!", both Kyuubimon attacked.

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Exhaust Flame!"

This time, Leomon's attack destroyed the cluster bombs before they could detonate, opening the way for the Foxfire Dragons. The Exhaust Flame hit first, just ahead of the Foxfire Dragons. It still wasn't enough to destroy Megadramon, but it was enough to make him rethink his plans. He quickly tunneled himself underground to escape.

"What the hell was that all about?", Koichi asked.

"It is said that if you load a digimon with a partner, you will attain the means to go to the Material World", Kyuubimon explained. "It's just a legend, but there are those who believe it, or at least grant it enough credence to try to load any digimon with partners. Like Megadramon".

"I'm not so sure I'd want him in the Material World", Koichi said. "not with an attitude like that"

"Indeed", Kyuubimon agreed.

They were on their way again, this time they were holding their Champion forms, just in case. To make better time, Growlmon was carrying Kenta, Koichi and Juri were riding Kyuubimon, and Kazu was riding Kyuubimon_Ag.

"I wonder", Kenta was speculating, "how will we get back?"

"What are you saying?", Kazu reprimanded, "we haven't found Takato and the others yet!"

"I meant after... how will we return to the Material World?"

"We'll find Takato soon", Growlmon replied.

"Juri, are you OK?", Leomon asked.

"I'm fine", she replied. "Sorry Kyuubimon, for using you like a horse"

"Don't worry about it"

"Anyway", she asked, "where are Takato and the others?"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"What's done is done", Takato told Henry. "Now that she's here, maybe Lopmon knows something about Calumon?"

Lopmon had no idea as to what they were talking about.

"Here", Takato brought out his drawing of Calumon: "Have you seen this digimon?", he asked Lopmon.

"Yes", he replied. "The last time I saw him, he was being transported to Suszakumon. The one who holds the Light of Evolution: I recognize him, but never knew he had a name. To recover the one who conceals the Light of Evolution, and to fight those who would oppose our evolution and threaten our world, Zhuqiaomon reconfigured the data of digimon recovered from dust packets to create us Deva"."

"What's 'Suszakumon'?", Henry asked.

"It's the palace of our God: Zhuqiaomon. It lies beyond the Nondaimon Gate", he pointed across the suspension bridge, towards that red glow on the horizon that looked like the last of a perpetual sunset.

He was surprised that Lopmon was that forthcoming with critical information, both about Calumon and himself. He didn't figure a Deva would be that helpful, that truthful, as he had no doubt about Lopmon's honesty. It rang all too true.

The digignomes were back, flying all around them.

"Shibumi said they try to communicate by body and sign language", Henry theorized. "They seem rather agitated about something... Like they want something... By the way they're acting, it has to be important, but what..."

He got his answer, as they flew across the bridge.

"Wait! Come back!", Takato called after them. "I want to know more about Guilmon! I want to know where he is!"

They disappeared from view, on the other side of that artificial canyon.

"Zhuqiaomon", Henry said.

"Then Calumon is there? Then let's go get him!", Takato declared.

"We can't!", Henry insisted.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon declared. "Suzy and Lopmon became partners, right?"

"Right", Suzy confirmed, as she displayed her digivice.

"Wait!", Lopmon called out, as he ran and stood before the suspension bridge. "I can't allow you to go to Suszakumon!"

"Lopmon?", Takato asked.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Calumon saw a bright red light coming from above him; it was almost too bright to look at directly. He was being addressed by an unseen voice:

"You who bears the Light of Evolution, you are not a digimon. You must regain your previous form..."

"Calumon is Calumon, culu? I _am_ a digimon, culu?!", he insisted, but it was as if he hadn't been heard at all.

"...You used to give the Light of Evolution to all digimon. You must spread the Light of Evolution once again"

Calumon had no idea as to what this voice was talking about. Though he did remember that Koichi once told him something very similar. He wondered: could it be true? Was there more to his unrecalled past than he suspected?

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"The power of the God who created me is overwhelming...", Lopmon was explaining.

"That 'God' (finger quotes) was also the one who punished you by devolving you to a Rookie", Henry objected.

"Yes", Lopmon agreed. "That is why I know how powerful he is. The one who punishes is greater still than the one punished".

"Lopmon", Suzy approached him with a stoke of the head. "You're very kind and considerate".

"I opposed his will", he explained. "I don't want to hurt anyone again, and I don't want to see anyone else get hurt".

"You're very nice, Lopmon", Suzy told him.

"One who shows his power through punishment is no god to me", Henry explained. "That's a tyrant... That's more like a demon than a god".

"If we don't do anything, we can't rescue Calumon", Terriermon objected.

There was a bright flash of light: "What was that?!", Takato asked, "Lightening?" This came out of nowhere, as it didn't look even remotely like it was going to rain any time soon.

("_The time has come for me to fulfill my destiny!_", Catsuramon declared)

"Leomon, why did you become Juri's partner?", Growlmon asked.

"How did you become Takato's partner?", he asked instead of answering.

"I've been with Takato from the very beginning. He designed me".

"Kyuubimon, how about you?", Leomon asked.

"The first time, or the second?"

"You had two partners?", he asked.

"The first time was a big mistake. I partnered with Ruki, thinking that becoming stronger was enough. I was wrong, and she betrayed me. It was after that I met Koichi purely by chance. He swore he would never betray me, and I believed him. Then we were partners".

"You still haven't answered Growlmon's question", Koichi pointed out.

"I believe I was probably born a digimon to become Juri's partner. Anyway, that's what I believe"

"Thanks, Leomon", Juri said.

"Leomon is strong and kind", Growlmon observed. "How did you get that way?"

"Up till now, all I've done is fight. That's the destiny of all digimon, or so I thought".

"If I fight more, then I can be like you?"

"You have your own destiny", Leomon explained.

"Maybe I'll ask Takato... I wonder where he is? How he's doing?"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Henry, I appreciate you want to protect your little sister, that's natural... How about if I take Terriermon and check it out? If there's any danger, we'll come right back".

"Henry, how about it?", Terriermon asked.

"I don't know...", he said doubtfully.

"If one of the Holy Beasts is really there, even though they're very powerful digimon, they still want to protect this world, right? We want the same thing... I'm sure he'll understand".

"It's not that I'm unwilling, or that I don't trust you with Terriermon, it's that I don't agree. Look at what that digimon 'God' did to Antiramon, and for what? Because he showed kindness towards Suzy instead of what? Destroying her? Should he have been disowned and devolved for that 'terrible crime' (finger quotes)? Look at what his Deva did before we left the Material World. Have you forgotten all those threats he made? Remember what Guilmon and Renamon told us? Does any of that suggest that this Zhuqiaomon would be interested in talking, let alone understanding?"

Henry shook his head: "Takato, Zhuqiaomon is nuttier than squirrel shit. Certifiable. Can you deny it, in all honesty, can you deny it? I don't think trying to reason with an extremely powerful psychotic digimon is such a swell idea".

"Shibumi didn't think so..."

"Shibumi also didn't have access to all the information we had. He wasn't there for the rampage of those Deva. He could still be very wrong. You may be willing to bet your life on it, but I won't have that on my conscience".

"I have to agree with Henry", Suzy said. "That monkey... he tried to take me to his God even when I told him I didn't want to go with him. If it hadn't been for Antiramon..."

The argument was ended with an explosion that looked and sounded like incoming artillery. They all instinctively turned away.

"What?!", Takato asked, as he turned back to look: "Lilithmon!"

Lilithmon had arrived in a spectacular manner, with a tremendous explosion that created a shallow crater, with her seated on the Iron Beast motorcycle.

"What? Just the three of you? I was hoping to settle this business with all of you at once. Oh well..."

"_Why_ do you want to kill us?!", Takato asked.

"Nothing personal", she explained, "I evolved, and that was the deal. I always keep my word".

"Henry!", Terriermon called out.

"Yes!", he agreed as he pulled out a random card, trusting it would be the Blue Card he really needed.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

"Heh", she dismissed, "fighting you is nothing"

"Don't underestimate me", Rapidmon warned. "Rapid Fire!", he launched his RPGs. The explosions had no effect whatsoever.

"I felt nothing", Lilithmon warned. "Vanish!", she called out. "Evil Sigh!", she retaliated.

"Rapidmon!", Henry called out, as the Ultimate was blown out of the sky, landing on his back. He couldn't believe Rapidmon could be taken down so easily.

"At... at this rate...", Takato said. "Guilmon... Why aren't you here! I need you! GUILLLL-MONNNN!"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Growlmon started.

"What's wrong?", Kenta asked.

"I thought I heard Takato"

"I heard it too", Juri agreed.

"I didn't...", then Kenta heard it.

"It seems to be coming from that data stream", one was headed directly their way.

"I believe he's right", Koichi agreed.

"We have to get out of here!", Kazu announced.

"Let's go, rejoin Takato", Growlmon said.

"Wait!", Kazu protested, "You don't know where it'll take you!"

"I don't care!", Growlmon replied. "Takato's calling, and that's where I'm going... with or without you!"

"This could be our destiny", Leomon said.

"Better than waiting around here", Koichi proposed. "We either find Takato, or we're no worse off".

The debate was finished, as they couldn't outrun the data stream now...

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Lilithmon was laughing at them, if she attacked again...

Henry and Lopmon were trying to keep Suzy calm. This wasn't the sort of introduction he wanted for her to the Digital World, or digimon taming.

"Dammit!", he swore under his breathe. "Rapidmon!", he called out, "are you alright?!", he asked in desperation.

"Henry, she's strong", he stated the obvious.

"Of course, I've become the strongest digimon in the Digital World... I _am_ the Digimon Queen! Some joke of a digimon like you has no chance against me!"

"Wait!", Takato called out. "You used to be Ruki! Don't you remember? You helped us when Guilmon got trapped by that digital anomaly. Then there was that time in the underground garage, when Guilmon saved your life. What about that time when Guilmon, Henry, and I helped Renamon defeat Allomon...", he tried thinking of other situations where Ruki had shown some signs of friendship. He wished he could come up with more examples.

"Ruki", she said softly to herself. "Ruki is already dead! She's _nothing_ more than a bad memory!", she called back.

He was beginning to fear that Lilithmon had no better nature to which to appeal, however, he'd bought just enough time. The data stream appeared, depositing Koichi, Kazu, Kenta, Growlmon, and the two Kyuubimon, and Juri and Leomon.

("_The wrath of God shall be satisfied soon. The infidels are gathering_")

"Growlmon! Good to see you, and you're right on time!"

"What the hell's going on?!", Koichi asked.

"Takato, I missed you!", Growlmon called out.

"Yeah, I missed you too".

"Lilithmon, you...", Kyuubimon started to say.

"Shut up!", she demanded. "Don't look at me like that! This will be your final resting place!", she threatened.

"Phantom Pain!", she attacked. Kyuubimon dodged that attack.

"Exhaust Flame!", Growlmon attacked.

The Iron Beast was finally operating in its proper environment as a street bike. It proved highly nimble, dodging every blast of Exhaust Flame. Still, this was enough to prevent another attack.

"Run!", Takato called out.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", Kyuubimon_Ag launched his attack. It had little effect, but was enough of a distraction. Kyuubimon ran at the Iron Beast, throwing her weight against it, and finally unseated Lilithmon, though knocking herself out in the process.

"Kyuubimon!", Koichi called out. "Evolve!"

"Evolve", she passed out again.

"Foxfire Dragon!", Kyuubimon_Ag attacked Lilithmon, but even that did little more than distract, and really piss her off.

She approached the semi-conscious Kyuubimon: "How dare you! How dare you make me look foolish!"

"Stop Lilithmon!", Growlmon called out.

"Don't!", Kyuubimon_Ag called out.

"Growlmon, that's it!", Takato called out. "Lilithmon... Ruki: she turned into a demon! Defeat her! Defeat her!"

"Takato?", Juri asked herself, as she stood by Leomon. She'd never seen such anger before.

Lilithmon leaped up, flattening Growlmon with a single punch.

"I'll take care of you later. I have some unsettled business with this x-partner of mine"

"Ruki...", Kyuubimon pleaded.

"Kyuubimon! Run! Get the HELL out of there!", Koichi called out to his partner. It wasn't looking good.

"I'll kill you right here and now!"

"...open your eyes", Kyuubimon completed that thought.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Phantom..."

Something stopped her. She looked around to see Leomon holding her by the arm.

"I don't know you", he told her. "I don't know how you got this way..."

"Who the hell are you?!", she demanded, as she broke his hold.

"Power has nothing to do with evolution", Leomon was explaining. "That is one thing I have learned", as he glanced at Juri, who looked surprised.

"Leomon...", she said.

Lilithmon pointed and laughed: "_That_ is your partner?", she was laughing too hard to contemplate an attack. She began undoing the flap of her riding trousers: "You'll have to break her pelvis before you even consider fucking her!"

His recollection of Juri's sexual attraction made him uncomfortable, though he was able to hide it from Lilithmon.

Lilithmon dropped the flap of her trousers, exposing her pussy. She began to rub herself up and down Leomon's leg, as she jammed her lips to his. He clamped his jaws shut to keep her from sticking her tongue in his mouth. She smeared shiny stains of "girl cum" on Leomon's trousers.

"Let me wrap these wet, luscious pussy lips around that big, beautiful cock. Show you how a real woman rides!"

(This was one of the ways Lilithmon attacked: she literally fucked her victims to death.)

She was pulling at his belt: "C'mon, let's let that big fella out to play!"

Leomon gave her a right cross with a massive fist that hit hard enough to shatter any human skull. Lilithmon was hardly dazed at all.

"You are making a fool of yourself", Leomon told her. "It will never be your destiny to harm these people or their partners", he announced.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU!", Lilithmon shrieked in rage. "NAZAR NAIL!", she drove it up to its hilt into Leomon's gut.

Leomon's eyes widened. He groaned in agony. He tipped over, dropping onto his back as he made no attempt to check his fall.

The rest, human and digimon, couldn't believe what they were seeing, didn't want to believe it.

"LEEEE-O-MONNNN!", Juri called out.

Henry was doing his best to keep Suzy from seeing this. Kyuubimon tried attacking, but a karate style kick sent her flying.

"Kyuubimon!", Koichi called out.

"Why... why won't you understand?", Leomon asked. "Why do you refuse to listen?"

Juri was crying, shaking her head. Trying her best to deny what she was seeing.

"She... she killed Leomon", Kazu was saying.

"Get up! Run! Run away! Don't let her kill you!", Kenta called out, denying what was painfully obvious, as Leomon was shedding data rapidly now. He was dying, and nothing could save him.

"Leomon... dammit!", Henry said.

"This... might be my destiny...", Leomon said as the last of his data dispersed.

The LCD screen of Juri's digivice displayed a simple message: "Connection lost"

"NOOOOOOOOO!", she screamed.

"I load the strong ones", Lilithmon said as she loaded Leomon's data. "I will become stronger! I will! I WILL!"

"L-l-l-l-leo... Mon... Kind and strong Leomon...", Growlmon was saying. Suddenly, his eyes went reptilian.

"I... I always thought you were a bitch", Takato was literally shaking with rage. "How right I was! How? How could you be so evil? How could you do such a shitty thing! HOW COULD YOU!"

Takato and Growlmon began screaming in unison... Growlmon evolved to Megalogrowlmon.

"What's this?", Juri asked. "What's happening?"

"Juri!", Kazu took her by the arm. "It's not safe here!", he warned.

"Don't touch me!", she reprimanded. "I don't want _anyone_ touching me!"

"Juri?", he asked.

"Heh", Lilithmon dismissed Megalogrowlmon as he advanced on her. "So you reached Ultimate? I'm at the Mega level. You will die for nothing!".

"We're gonna defeat this cunt", Takato said through clenched teeth.

Megalogrowlmon fired his rocket packs, throwing himself at her.

"Stupid cyborg...", she underestimated how fast Megalogrowlmon could move, and found his jaws clamped down hard on her.

"That's it! Go! Finish her off!", Takato commanded.

"Stop", Juri said.

Lilithmon dropped Megalogrowlmon with a single punch.

"You can't lose Megalogrowlmon! Evolve! Evolve more! EVOLVE!"

Down in his prison, Calumon sensed the rising anger. Despite himself, he released a powerful blast of digientelechia.

"What's this?", Lilithmon asked.

The black emblem on Megalogrowlmon's chest began to glow red. A blood red light enveloped Megalogrowlmon. He roared with a sound the likes of which they'd never heard before.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"A large amount of data is accumulating in the network's deepest layer!", Tally called out. Red symbols were beginning to appear on the main monitor.

"The highest level of crisis", Yamaki said, "the Digital Hazard".

"It's the worst we've seen", Riley said, "this is going to affect the Material World itself".

More of the Digital Hazard symbols were appearing at a rapid rate.

"I don't know if we can hold it together".

"Break as many connections as possible", Yamaki ordered, "we have to do our best to preserve as many critical systems as we can".

A red beam of light shot up from the ground. Janyu saw this from his apartment.

"What's going on?", he asked himself. "What's wrong?"

His personal computer's Internet connection had gone all haywire, the screen showing a blank green background with the red Digital Hazard symbols filling the screen. He wasn't the only one...

"Dammit! Henry! The children! Please be alright! I can't do anything!"

"I have to go out for awhile", Janyu told his wife.

"Before you go, what's the weather like in Hong Kong?", she was packing clothes to send to Suzy.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm going out..."

"Wait!", she called out, coming from Suzy's bedroom. "Suzy... is she really staying with your parents? I thought it was peculiar, her going off on such short notice... She went to that place Henry went, didn't she?"

"I'm... sorry"

"Janyu Wong! You are a horrible liar, and I know you too well. Is that where she really is?"

"I'm sorry, I... didn't know how to tell you..."

"Why?!", she demanded. "Why does it have to be our children?!"

"I'll explain it later", he said as he left the apartment, and his wife crying in the hall, as Suzy's remaining brother and sister looked on.

"Later?", she sobbed, "when's later?"

"What's going on?", Janyu asked as soon as he entered the control room at Hypnos.

"We don't know", Yamaki told him. "Some enormous power developed in the deepest layer of the Digital World, and it's affecting all other layers".

"Henry and the others?"

"We don't know", Yamaki shook his head. "It probably has something to do with their mission".

"Why? Why now?", Janyu asked. "My colleagues have been working on an Ark to bring them home, and now it's too late", he said in despair.

"I still have confidence in them", Yamaki explained. "They've already shown us that they can accomplish what the military and even Hypnos itself can't".

"Yes, that's right", he had to agree. "But what's happening now?"

"We simply don't know and have no way to find out", Yamaki apologized.

_The Digital World_

"Is he evolving", Henry asked.

"That's it!", Takato encouraged. "Evolve to Mega!"

Megalogrowlmon was screaming horribly inside that red light. It dispersed, revealing a winged dragonish creature with a serpent like body, jaws filled with sharp teeth, mouth dripping saliva. It roared.

Takato had just received his first lesson in dark digivolution: "I wanted you to turn into that?", he asked himself. His digivice was too hot to hold, its circuits overloaded and burning out. It burst into data as soon as it hit the ground.

The dragon and Lilithmon were doing nothing, just sizing each other up.

"I'm scared", Suzy said.

"That's Guilmon's mega-form?", Kyuubimon asked herself.

"I know Guilmon is a Virus", Rapidmon said, "but I never imagined..."

Koichi brought up a profile

_Megidramon_

_Mega Virus_

_Dark dragon digimon_

"He really is a Mega", he announced.

"That's Guilmon? The digimon I created?", Takato asked himself.

Megidramon struck first, coiling his serpent-like tail around Lilithmon. At once threatening to crush her, and/or tear her apart. She held back the powerful jaws.

"What the fuck are you? You're too strong!" She had another problem: Megidramon's saliva was as corrosive as oleum. It burned through her leather jacket, and would blind her if it got in her eyes.

"Stop already!", Juri called out, as she buried her face in her hands.

"Juri", Takato said.

"I... I wanted to defeat her, and because of that Guilmon..."

An earthquake struck, causing massive fissures of the whole plaza. They widened at an alarming rate.

"What's going on here?!", Koichi called out.

Henry figured it out, as he watched the symbol emblazoned on Megidramon's chest continue to flash red: "This evolution is fucking up the entire Digital World... That's what that emblem means!"

"Hennnn-rrrry!", Suzy called out. He jumped across a fissure that was growing fast, separating him from his sister and Lopmon. That didn't do him much good, as another fissure opened, stranding them on a small island no bigger than a throw rug. They could fall in any second... Fortunately, Rapidmon wasn't totally out of commission, as he flew in to rescue them.

"Are you OK?", Henry asked.

"Don't worry, I won't lose!", he promised.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out, "you have to stop this!"

Megidramon's fangs were getting too close for comfort: "What is this? Was this monster born just to defeat me?", Lilithmon asked herself. "I can't allow myself to lose to you"

Makuramon arrived, traveling inside one of his Primal Orbs: "What do you think you're doing?", he asked as his Orb evaporated. "If you continue this fight, you'll not only screw up the realm of our God, but the rest of the Digital World along with it", he explained.

"Shut up!", Lilithmon hissed at him.

"That dipshit Catsuramon: what the _hell_ was he thinking? Making a digimon from an Outworlder..."

"I told you to shut the fuck up!"

Makuramon made a critical error: he got too close. Lilithmon's hand shot out, grabbing the monkey Deva by the head.

"What do you think you're doing?! I am a Deva! I am a servant of God, without whom you wouldn't even exist!"

She screamed as she crushed his skull. He burst into data, which Lilithmon loaded.

"She just loaded a Deva!", Koichi said.

"She really is a demon now", Kyuubimon said, as she began running towards the site of the battle.

"What do you think you're doing?!", Koichi called after her. "That's insane!"

Rapidmon also flew after her: "We have to stop this fight, otherwise the whole Digital World will be ruined! We have no choice!"

Out came digivices and random cards.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Kyuubimon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON!**

_Kyuubimon_Ag Evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

Lilithmon was finally getting the upper hand over Megidramon, she forced herself into a standing position...

"Bonhitsusen!"

"Raptor Slash!"

"Golden Triangle!"

They tried attacking all at once. Lilithmon reached out and fired something at all three.

"Dammit!", Henry called out. "She loaded Makuramon and can use his defenses!"

Taomon, Deinondramon and Rapidmon found themselves trapped in Primal Orbs. They were beginning to phase out, as they were being destroyed.

"I'll load all three of you!", Lilithmon threatened. "I'll load and load until I become the strongest digimon ever!"

"At this rate, they'll be loaded!", Koichi called out.

"The Alias card!", Henry called out, "the duplication".

"Alias: digimodify!", Koichi, Kazu, and Henry scanned the card. It worked, as they watched Renamon, Impmon, and Terriermon drop out of the Primal Orbs.

"That saved our lives...", Renamon began.

"But now Lilithmon can still load all the power we had as Ultimates", Impmon finished that unpleasant thought.

Lilithmon began punching Megidramon in the side of the face.

"STOP!", Juri called out. STOP IT!"

It took a half-dozen blows before he released her, and began to fall away. She delivered a karate kick to his chest that shattered his breast plate. Takato expected to see his partner dissolve into data, but that didn't happen. Megidramon lay on his back, inert, unmoving. As quickly as they began, the earthquakes ceased.

_The Material World_

The Digital Hazard symbols began disappearing from the main monitor: "It looks like the crisis is over", Riley stated. "None too soon, it looks like we've contained the damage, minimized the loss. Bringing systems back on-line"

"Does this mean the kids are alright?", Janyu asked.

"That's the hell of it: we don't know", Yamaki explained. "All this useless junk I've built... what a fool I've been!"

"We were working on the Ark...", Janyu wondered if it was still necessary.

"When will it be complete?", Yamaki asked.

"We still have a lot of calculations... rematerializing multiple passengers at the same time..."

"Then you can have the use of the Hypnos mainframe for as long as you need it. Bring the Tamers home ASAP"

"Thank you"

_The Digital World_

Lilithmon was incapacitated by what looked like an epileptic episode. The others looked on, not knowing what to make of this.

"Did she really become the strongest digimon?", Kazu asked.

They also wondered, was this a case of loading too much data too fast? Was Lilithmon going to burn herself out, or was this a prelude to much worse to come?

Koichi, Kazu, and Henry took the opportunity to check on their partners.

Takato turned to Juri: "Juri?", he asked as she backed away from him.

"Stop this", she said. "Stop this already"

"I didn't want this fight", he said as he stepped closer.

"Stay away from me!", she demanded.

"Juri..."

"Look!", she demanded."Look at what you did to Guilmon! He used to be so kind, so gentle... and now he's a... MONSTER!"

"Megidramon", Takato said as he walked over to his stricken partner. He knelt by the head of the Dragon of the Digital Hazard. "This happened because of me. It's all my fault. I always loved digimon. I thought how great it would be to play with one, not just the cards or on-line, but with a real digimon. It was like a dream come true, when I discovered you were real. Like magic, but digimon are data, so it wasn't magic at all: it was technology..."

"Juri?", Kazu was calling to her. "Juri! It isn't safe, being so close all alone". She acted as if she didn't hear, just looking forlornly at the "Connection lost" message on her digivice.

"It can't be helped... oh well...", he began to say. "I'm going!", as he prepared to make the leap across a chasm.

Lilithmon's seizure passed, as she stood: "I won! I won!", she proclaimed. "I finally became the strongest digimon!"

"Lopmon! Evolve and help us", Suzy requested.

"I... am not allowed to evolve", he told her with regret.

"But everyone's in danger!", she protested.

"Suzy", Henry reprimanded, "you can't ask more of him than he can give".

"It's alright", Koichi told her, "everyone's here: Renamon, Impmon, Terriermon - everyone. We're still together, and we won't let anything happen to you or anyone else"

"You!", Kenta called.

"I don't have anything to do with any god anymore", Lilithmon explained, "but a deal's a deal. I'll load you Outworlders too... because I haven't turned into a god, but a demon", she said it so matter of factly that it was all the more chilling for it. Lilithmon began striding towards Megidramon to finish what she started.

"Takato! Fuck're you doin'? Get the HELL out of there!", Koichi commanded him. "You can't save him now!"

"This... this isn't right", Takato was telling Megidramon, "because Guilmon is always Guilmon! We've always been friends! We played, laughed, and fought together..."

"Damn kid", Lilithmon said, "you're still there? Then you'll be the first to die!", she threatened

"Guilmon!", Takato hugged the Dragon, who softly growled. A bright red eye opened. He was regaining consciousness.

"Phantom Pain!", Lilithmon launched her attack to a chorus of voices all urging Takato to run.

"Guilmon is my friend", he said.

Ta-ka-to", Megidramon said weakly.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out.

"What am I doing here?", he asked no one in particular. He was back in his own bedroom, looking at a figurine of Augomon he kept on the top of a book case. He ran to his desk, where a freshly drawn picture of Guilmon awaited. He realized this was before he'd completed his notes for a new digimon character. "Why am I being shown this?"

"I'm data too", he realized, "since I'm in the Digital World... The time I spent with Guilmon was completely real. The feelings we shared were real".

"That's right, Takato. We'll always be friends", it was Guilmon's voice. As he looked out his bedroom window, he saw a red ball of light coming on fast.

"Guilmon!". The scene changed. He was in a featureless red space, except that it was filled with Guilmon, like hundreds of figurines.

"No! My Guilmon is the only one! It doesn't matter how many copies of his data there are: there's only _one_ Guilmon!"

A red path materialized beneath his feet, leading to one "figurine" out of all of them. As he ran down the path, he saw, and heard, all those Guilmon figurines being smashed with a sound of breaking glass.

"Guilmon!", he called out repeatedly. When he reached the end of the path, he was back in the Digital World. Megidramon had devolved.

"I'm... here... Takato", he said.

"Thanks for being here, Guilmon"

"Takato!", someone called out a warning.

Just as Lilithmon's attack struck, for a flash of an instant, Guilmon was Megidramon for one last time, as he deflected the attack.

"Takato, let's fight _together_!", Guilmon called out, now as strong as ever. No lasting effects of having been Megidramon; no sign he'd just been on death's door.

"Yeah, just like always", Takato agreed.

The Light of Evolution was already beginning to appear.

"How do we fight together? How do I fight with you?", he asked.

"I don't know, but if we want it badly enough, I'm sure we'll find a way to make it happen"

"I won't hide behind you ever again!"

_Guilmon Matrix Evolve..._

**... DUKEMON!**

"Is that his _true_ mega-form?", Henry asked.

"What the hell are you?", Lilithmon asked.

"Lilithmon: you sold your soul to the devil and became a devil yourself. I, Dukemon, will never forgive you". Dukemon had a habit of issuing these "declarations of war".

"_You_ can't forgive _me_", Lilithmon mocked. "Can't forgive me for being who I am? Try defeating me before saying bullshit like that!"

They rushed at each other. Dukemon tried to strike with his lance, but the blow was parried. They clashed again, Lilithmon trying to strike with her Nazar Nail, and Dukemon defending with the lance. Neither getting the best of the other.

Henry ran a profile

_Dukemon_

_Mega_

_Holy Knight_

_Anthroform digimon_

_Attack: Royal Sabre_

"Mega... Dukemon...", Renamon was saying.

"I'm speechless", Suzy said.

"Me too", Lopmon agreed.

"What happened to Takato?", Kenta asked.

Juri was off by herself, not paying attention as she mourned Leomon.

"Holy Knight digimon", Lilithmon was saying, "or whatever you are. Do you really believe you are a match for me with just a lance and shield? Don't make me laugh", she threatened.

"Phantom Pain!", she launched the attack.

Dukemon's shield deflected it. ...

"What do you mean? Takato's gone missing?", Kazu asked. They walked over to the artificial canyon. "You don't suppose he fell down there?"

"No, he didn't", it was Impmon. "Takato and Guilmon somehow merged their data, became Dukemon".

"How do you know?", Kenta asked.

"Because, unlike the rest of you dumb asses, I was paying attention. I saw it happen".

"So Takato is _really_ fighting with his digimon?"

"Isn't that just what I told you?" ...

Koichi was helping support Renamon: "What's wrong?", he asked.

"I'm supposed to be protecting you", she complained.

"No shame in admitting you bit off a bit more than you could chew... I think we can switch roles once in awhile, don't you?" ...

"Damn! She's fast!", Dukemon complained to himself. "Where did she go?", he asked. "Behind!", he answered himself, just in time to present the strongest part of his armour to her Nazar Nail. He was knocked off his feet, but at least it didn't penetrate.

"Dammit!", Terriermon said, "if only I could evolve!"

"Suzy! Come here!", Henry called to his sister. ...

Juri was oblivious to the battle that raged around her, as she sat there, looking at her useless digivice: "Is this what you call destiny, Leomon?" ...

Dukemon also had a trick or two, as Lilithmon was coming at him again...

"Nazar Nail!", she attacked, but all there was, was Dukemon's red cape.

"Where did he go?"

"Royal Sabre!", she got her answer, as he attacked from above. Now it was her turn to get knocked flat on her ass...

_Suszakumon: Zhuqiaomon's Audience Chamber_

"Now that that digimon you created is running amok", Zhuqiaomon was telling his Deva, Catsuramon, "is the perfect opportunity for you to take my vengeance on the one who betrayed me".

Catsuramon didn't need any explication: "As you wish, My Lord". He disappeared from the chamber.

_The Courtyard_

Another earthquake struck, this one isolating Suzy and Lopmon.

"I perceive...", Lopmon began. On an adjoining ledge, Catsuramon had appeared.

"You are a Deva, and yet you protect an Outworlder", he announced. "That is an unforgivable act!"

"Lopmon, is he a friend of yours?", Suzy asked.

"He's a Deva... like me", he explained.

"Traitors shall be punished!", Catsuramon announced.

"No!", Suzy protested, as she grabbed hold of Lopmon.

"You have to let me go! You have to get away! Save yourself", Lopmon ordered her.

"No! I won't do it!", she insisted.

"Then the Outworlder shall die with you!"

"Suzy is innocent!", Lopmon objected. "Don't harm her!", he demanded.

"Innocent? No such thing. It is a deadly sin for any Outworlder to trespass into our world, let alone the realms of the Holy Beasts themselves!"

Catsuramon leaped at them, transforming himself into a mallet large enough to flatten the both of them. "Feel the wrath of God!"

"Suzy!", Henry called out.

"NOOOOOOO!", Terriermon called, as he flew towards Catsuramon as fast as he could. He struck, and deflected Catsuramon's attack, but the rebound dropped him into a crevasse.

"Terriermon!", Suzy called out.

Renamon quickly removed Suzy and Lopmon from the scene.

"You can't run...", Catsuramon was saying when Dukemon showed up

"Not even the Deva are worthy opponents for Dukemon", he threatened. "Royal Sabre!", he fired this energy attack.

"No, am I defeated?", Catsuramon asked just before breaking apart.

Lilithmon rushed in: "Thank you for destroying that filthy mutt", she said. "I'll take that!", as she began loading Catsuramon's data. "You allowed me to power up!", as she laughed.

"Terriermon...", Suzy was saying to Henry.

"You have to let him go", he told her.

"No..."

"Suzy! He's a Deva! He's dangerous! Now let him go!", he ordered.

"I can't... Lopmon's my partner... He's my partner", she said as she showed her digivice.

"What am I saying?", Henry asked himself.

"I'll look for Terriermon", Renamon volunteered, as she took off.

She soon found him where he had fallen: "Are you alright?", she asked, concerned.

"Mou-men-tai", he replied, weakly.

"Let's get you back to the others". ...

Lilithmon and Dukemon were dueling

"Get out of here!", he ordered Kazu, Kenta, and Impmon. He bought them the time they needed to escape.

"Takato and Dukemon: they're one and the same", Kenta informed the others.

"Dukemon is... Takato?", Henry asked.

"How do you know?", Koichi asked.

"Because I told him so", Impmon replied. "I saw the transformation myself" ...

Dukemon body slammed Lilithmon, sending the both of them flying. Lilithmon somehow kept her feet.

"Aren't you the lucky one?", she asked sarcastically. She "disappeared".

"Where did she go?", Dukemon asked himself.

This time, she did to him what he'd done to her: attacked from above. This time, she flattened Dukemon, got the upper hand as he was knocked senseless.

"Good night sweet Prince", she said sarcastically as she pushed him into a sitting position with a foot. "Farewell", she said.

Takato screamed in fear. He was certain he was going to die

"Takato!", Henry called out, as he was expecting this was the last he was ever going to see of his friend.

"We have to help him!", Koichi called out.

"It's too late, there's nothing we can do for him", Renamon accepted the inevitable.

"Pillar of Fire!", the flames erupted all around Lilithmon. Impmon had used his second most powerful attack, one that didn't require the charge-up of Summon.

"We won't let you hurt Takato!", Kazu challenged Lilithmon.

"You...", Lilithmon began to threaten. Impmon's attack couldn't do any damage, but it was just enough of a distraction, as Dukemon shoulder slammed Lilithmon into a pillar of rock thrust up by the earthquake Megidramon had caused.

"Thanks, Impmon", Dukemon called back.

"Royal Sabre!", he fired the energy weapon at Lilithmon. It drove her through the rock, and beyond.

"DAMN YOU!", she screamed in rage.

Dukemon began to charge up his ultimate attack. The count down began as the eight yellow triangles surrounding the periphery of his shield lit up, one after another.

"Prepare yourself, Lilithmon, for your wicked soul shall burn in pure light", Dukemon announced. "Final Elision!", he launched the energy weapon.

"My... power!", Lilithmon called out as it struck her, "My power!"

It still wasn't enough to destroy her, but it was enough to take all the fight out of her. She sat back on her heels, as Dukemon rested his lance on her shoulder.

"This fight is over", he informed her.

"I... lost?", she asked. "Am I defeated? I was supposed to be invincible... I was going to be the Digimon Queen... Finish it, load my data, in my shame".

"Stop", Juri said to herself.

"You're _still_ just thinking of yourself...", Dukemon was saying.

"Spare me the f'kin' sermon!", Lilithmon hissed at him through clenched teeth. She didn't even close her eyes.

Takato and Dukemon screamed in anger as his lance struck Lilithmon with such force it tore right through her, and embedded itself in the ground behind her. She threw her head back and screamed in agony before exploding into data which Dukemon let drift off. He wasn't about to load _that_ data, and could only hope that its evil didn't contaminate any innocent digimon who might happen across the dust packets it would become part of.

Takato saw that Lilithmon wasn't completely gone...

"How appropriate", he said, "it's the same colour as her filthy soul".

A black sphere remained: Ruki's Data Sphere left over from the biomerge with Icedevimon. It burst, and Ruki was laying on her back, semi-conscious, as Dukemon stood over her.

"Ta-ka-to", she said, as Dukemon lifted his lance high above his head.

"This one's for Leomon".

"STOOOOP!"

The point of the lance hovered just above the center of the blue broken heart on her T-shirt. Stopped by the only voice in the Digital World with the power to do that: Juri's.

"Juri?", Dukemon called out. "She killed your partner!", he objected. "She has it coming!"

"Yes, and I'll always hate her for that. Even if you did it, Leomon wouldn't come back...", Juri paused to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You'd be just as bad as she is: a cold blooded killer... I don't want to see anyone else hurt on my account. Please. Please stop fighting..."

"Juri", Dukemon said.

Takato and Guilmon broke their biomerge, and appeared beside Juri. He didn't know whether to try to comfort her with a touch or hug. They watched as Ruki pushed herself to her feet.

"Fuck this shit", she said as she walked off.


	24. A Score to Settle

**22) A Score to Settle**

"What just happened?", Takato asked.

"We did it!", Guilmon celebrated, "we fought _together_ as one".

"Yeah, we sure did", Takato agreed. "From now on, there is _nothing_ that can keep us apart".

"Thanks for being there", Guilmon said.

"Yeah", Takato agreed.

Takato received a replacement digivice, this one being trimmed in yellow instead of red, as was the original one he had.

He turned to Juri: "I'm so sorry", he apologized, "for everything. I didn't mean to upset you so".

"You did the right thing, forgiving, I mean... First my mother, and now Leomon... Is it my destiny to keep losing friends?"

Takato had no answer for her. What could he say? That it would be alright? A promise she wouldn't lose anyone else, when he could make no guarantees? Nothing he could say that wouldn't sound like a cliche?

"I'm sorry", was all he could say.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Everyone was assembled at the bridge that crossed the artificial canyon.

"That building off in the distance", Lopmon was explaining, "is Suszakumom".

If this palace had existed in the Material World, it would qualify as one of the ten tallest buildings. The whole structure struck Koichi as being awfully pretentious. This didn't bode well, he thought.

"So Calumon is there?", Takato asked.

"Definitely", Lopmon confirmed, "I used to be in Zhuqiaomon's service, and I'm certain of it".

"He's just gonna let us waltz in there and take him back?", Henry was saying.

"You've destroyed all his Deva", Lopmon explained, "and you just defeated his personal assassin. Zhuqiaomon has no choice now, no minions left to do his dirty work for him. He can't count me among those numbers anymore".

"So he's basically a coward", Henry said, "just as I suspected all along".

"I wouldn't be so sure of that", Lopmon objected, "it's that he self styles himself as a god. He considers that beneath his status. He gives the orders, and expects them to be carried out. He has a very low tolerance for failure, and punishes failure readily and severely. He didn't hesitate to delete Indaramon after he failed to turn Impmon against you guys..."

"So that's what happened to the Purple Pony?", Impmon asked.

"There are hardly ever any second chances with Zhuqiaomon".

"Well, let's get this over with", Koichi said.

"I have to get Suzy back to the Material World", Henry was saying. "We have to recover Calumon before that can happen".

"Is Terriermon up to it?", Takato asked.

"Don't worry about me", he reassured, "We'll give Zhuqiaomon a good beating, and go home with Calumon".

"If you're sure..."

"Moumentai! I'm as good as new".

"Right", Takato agreed.

They assembled on the other side of that canyon and waterfall. Juri was sitting, back against the support column of the suspension bridge, just looking at that "Connection lost" message.

"Juri", Takato was saying, "I don't want to lose anyone either. That's why we have to keep going".

"I know you don't like fighting", Henry told her, "I never liked it either. However, I learned that there are battles that are worth fighting. This is one of those times, I'm afraid, and there is no avoiding it this time. Once it's over, then all of us can go home".

"All?", Juri told him.

Henry then realized what a _faux pas_ he just committed. What was there to say? Leomon wasn't coming back. Period.

"Leomon isn't here", Juri said.

He also had other business to attend to: "Suzy, you can't go!", he ordered.

"No! I'm going with you!", she protested, "I go where Lopmon goes!"

"I have to go", he explained, "I was his servant, and I hope he'll listen to me so we can avoid a fight if at all possible".

"I still don't see what that has to do..."

"Suzy! You just avoided a great danger", Henry pointed out, "and we could be facing even greater danger..."

"Look Henry, I don't need an over protective big brother. I'm a Tamer, same as you, and you're not that much older, so drop the high and mighty attitude. Lopmon is as capable as a partner as Terriermon".

"Juri is not up to this", Koichi pointed out, "so someone will need to stay here with her. We can't leave her alone..."

"Suzy, he's right, and indeed you _are_ a Tamer, and you need to start thinking like one", Henry told her. "We have our job, and you have yours. We _do_ need someone to help look after Juri. This is something you can do".

"Then Terriermon..."

"Moumentai! That was nothing", he reassured.

"How about if Guilmon and I stay here with Suzy and Juri? That way, if anything happens, Guilmon will be here to protect them", Takato offered. It seemed natural for him to stay with Juri since he had a crush on her.

"I'll also help look after Juri and your sister", Kenta volunteered.

"What about it, Suzy?", Henry asked.

"I still don't like the idea of not going with Lopmon".

"It'll be alright", Lopmon told her. "I'll help negotiate with Zhuqiaomon, and we'll be right back. It's a promise".

"OK, then, I'll do it", Suzy agreed.

"Will we have to walk all that way?", Kazu asked.

"I don't think so", Koichi said, as they stepped onto the path that led to Suszakumon. "This looks like..."

A sphere looking no more substantial than a soap bubble formed around them and began to sweep them down the path.

"...a coil gun", he completed that thought. He'd noticed the rings around the path, spaced at regular intervals.

"Mag lev?", Henry asked.

"Or something quite similar", Koichi agreed.

"This is handy", Impmon said, "otherwise, it would be quite a walk".

This part of the bridge was over the lake that fed the waterfall. It didn't look like it was very deep, as these stone columns showed above its surface.

"Suzy: why did she come to the Digital World?", Henry asked himself more than the others.

"To meet me?", Lopmon speculated.

"There's no reason for her to be here!", he protested.

"I disagree", Koichi explained. "Look at what she's done already. She turned Antiramon against hid God. If that hadn't happened, we still wouldn't know where Calumon is. As bad as Lilithmon was, would you _also_ have wanted to fight Antiramon as well? We certainly didn't need _that_!"

"And Catsuramon tried to kill her for that! How would I explain _that_ to my parents! It's bad enough... I don't need to be worrying about her as well! Don't you get that!", Henry objected.

"I can appreciate you're the older brother. I'm in the same situation..."

"No! You're not! _Your_ little sister is still safe in the US!".

"No sense arguing about it now", Impmon objected. "What's done is done. I have no idea why the Ancient Ones decided to bring Suzy here. They must've had a reason, believed her presence was valuable. We'll just have to see how this one plays out"

"I still don't have to like it... my folks don't need the extra worry".

"Can't be helped", Koichi said, "I'm sure mine are just as worried".

"Terriermon, are you _sure_ you're OK? I hate to ask so much of you", Henry decided to change the subject.

"Moumentai! Don't worry about me!", he answered cheerfully.

"Thanks, Terriermon".

No one noticed that the tip of one ear "phased out" for an instant.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"These Outworlders have cost me twelve faithful servants and violated our lands. I will never forgive those foolish digimon who protect them", Zhuqiaomon said to himself, as he watched their approach.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

The "bubble" disappeared as quickly as it appeared, depositing its passengers on a plaza before the entrance to Suszakumon. This palace rose, tier upon tier, looking as though it was constructed of rose granite. The top spire visible only if they looked way up.

Two doors, each as tall as a three story building, rolled back on their tracks, shaking the ground as they opened onto a hallway that could easily have dry docked an aircraft carrier.

The vaulted ceiling rose even higher. Along the walls were support columns each looking like feet standing on their toes. The hallway was dimly lit by torch light. They hadn't gone very far when they noticed the change in demeanor of the digimon...

"Renamon?", Koichi noticed first since he was more finely in tune with Renamon's thoughts and feelings, probably as much, at least, as Takato and Guilmon were.

"I feel it", she explained, "a rage so fierce that I feel as though I'd be crushed if I let my guard down for even an instant".

"Terriermon?"

"Impmon?"

"I feel it too", Impmon confirmed.

This is not what they wanted to hear. If there were any doubts as to the sanity of this "God", that pretty much answered that question. They continued onward. At the end of the hall, were two more doors, matching the ones they'd come through in size, though with a different abstract pattern decorating them.

"My Lord, we beech thee to hear our petition", Lopmon said.

These doors rolled back, shaking the ground just as had the outside doors. This opened on a large chamber, obviously Zhuqiaomon's audience chamber. It also had a high, vaulted ceiling, was oval shaped, and empty save for a large gas jet in the very center of the floor from which roared an inferno that somehow burned in a closed room without oxygen, a trace of noxious fumes, or even a trace of soot on the ceiling, not even right above the flames. They could feel the radiated heat as soon as the doors opened.

The inferno was surrounded by a brass railing, its legs in the form of digitgrade feet, each with three claws.

"My Lord", Lopmon knelt on one knee, head bowed.

The flames began to take on a definite shape, first a head appeared.

"I am Zhuqiaomon. I protect the digimons' world as one of the Holy Beasts", Zhuqiaomon was acting as his own herald.

Zhuqiaomon looked like an amalgamation of bird and pterosaur. Two pairs of piercing red eyes, two sets of feathered wings, however he also had a long, reptilian tail much like an archeopteryx, long thin jaws filled with many small, sharp teeth. Multiple digicores surrounding his neck and the tip of his tail. He was surrounded by tenuous, red flames that seemed to radiate from his very substance.

"This is the digimon God?", Kazu asked.

"Don't show fear", Koichi suggested.

Lopmon felt himself yanked to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

"Stand on your own two feet. You will _not_ kneel to that four-eyed buzzard!", Henry ordered him. He got down on one knee to put himself at Lopmon's eye level. He grabbed the sides of his head.

"Look at your so-called God! He isn't a child-murdering _bastard_ only due to the ineptitude of the servant he sent to do his dirty work for him. That's right: he tried to murder _my little sister_... _your_ partner and _you_. He turned Ruki into that wacko assassin Lilithmon to try to murder all of us. This is what you want to bow down to? Stop thinking like a Deva and a servant and start learning to live your life on your terms and no one else's. That is no 'God'... he's just a bully and a coward".

Henry stood: "I've been dealing with your sort ever since I started school, and I'm up to here (drawing a hand above his eyes) with your kind. I'm not afraid of you!

Everyone: straight to Ultimate"

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

_Impmon Evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON!**

"Huh?", Henry asked himself as he saw one of Rapidmon's rocket launchers "phase out".

"Let's go!", Taomon announced, as they flew at Zhuqiaomon.

"You are not the ones I want to fight",he announced as he launched a "Phoenix Fire" fireball that drove all of them back.

"Rapidmon!", Henry called out, as he saw the rocket launcher phase out again.

"Hold together", Rapidmon told himself.

"Just one blow, and he knocked all of them out of the sky", Koichi said.

"Is he too much for us?", Kazu asked.

"Only the strongest survive here, and that is us", Zhuqiaomon announced. "We do not need, or want any help from Outworlders"

"On!", Taomon formed her force field just in time to deflect the stream of fire Zhuqiaomon launched at Koichi, Kazu and Henry.

"The disaster that you humans caused is threatening our whole world", he continued.

"At this rate, we'll be incinerated!", Kazu called out.

"Can we get to Mega?", Koichi asked.

"It's taking all my power just to protect you", Taomon replied.

"What are you talking about? We're not here to threaten you!", Koichi called out. He got no answer.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Guilmon, would you look after Suzy?", Takato asked. Suzy was sitting just in front of the bridge leading to Suszakumon. Juri was still sitting by the pier.

"Leomon", she said as she watched her useless digivice. Takato went to check on her, to see what, if anything, he could do for her.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Raptor Slash!"

"Rapid Fire!"

Deinondramon and Rapidmon attacked, hoping to take some of the pressure off Taomon. Neither attack could get past Zhuqiaomon's shield - those tenuous flames that surrounded him.

"How pathetic!", he taunted. "You shall burn in my fire for your arrogance and irreverence!", he threatened.

Once again, they were driven back. Deinondramon tried shielding Taomon with his body, as another gout of fire zeroed in on the force field.

"Homing Missile!", Rapidmon tried to attack. He never got the chance as the rocket launchers attached to his shoulders burst into data. "Dammit! Not now!"

At least he succeeded in taking the pressure off Taomon, as another blast of fire drove him into the wall so hard that he was stuck to the wall in the indentation he made.

"Rapidmon!", Henry called out. It was obvious that Rapidmon was on the verge of disintegration.

"Without the power to evolve, I can do nothing", Lopmon said as he looked on. He wanted to help, but had no idea as to how. It was obvious Zhuqiaomon wasn't interested in negotiating.

"Lopmon", Zhuqiaomon called out, "you are the sole surviving Deva. I now offer you the chance to return to my service. I will forget all about everything you have done if you agree".

"I'm needed elsewhere", he objected. "I have someone waiting for me".

"You fool", he said, "then you shall die!"

Zhuqiaomon launched a fireball at him.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Lopmon!", Suzy called out suddenly. Her digivice switched into comm mode, the holographic display showing her what Lopmon was seeing at that moment. She saw the oncoming flames, then the screen filled with static. She feared the worst. "Lopmon!"

"What are you doing?", Guilmon asked her as she began to climb the up above the bridge.

"Trying for better reception", she replied.

She still got nothing but static: "Lopmon, don't die. Please don't die!"

"Oh shit!", Guilmon thought to himself, "Takato isn't going to like this".

Somehow, Suzy was being carried, flying off _above_ the path that led to Suszakumon. Guilmon had no means to prevent this.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Deinondramon", Lopmon said. He was shielding the smaller digimon with his body and wings.

A missile struck, the explosion ending the attack. Rapidmon had fired it, despite being in a very bad way.

"Stop Rapidmon!", Taomon warned him. "You could corrupt all your data if you continue fighting".

"Suzy is waiting for us to come back", he objected.

"Rapidmon, I didn't realize you were hurt that badly", Henry said to himself, as he recalled how Terriermon deflected Catsuramon's attack. "I was concerned only about Suzy... I let Terriermon fight without paying attention to anything else, and I'm his partner".

Rapidmon broke himself free of the wall, and threw himself at Zhuqiaomon.

"Still resisting?", he asked as he fired another fireball at him, this time, devolving him back to Terriermon who flopped to the floor.

"Terriermon!", he called out, as he ran to him. "Terriermon...", he held the dog/bunny in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Henry, he beat me in the end", Terriermon apologized.

"I'm the one who should be sorry", Henry explained, I..."

"Again with the 'I, I'", Terriermon reprimanded. "That's always been your biggest problem, thinking you have to do everything by yourself. Look behind you..."

"Huh?", as he looked.

"We're not alone. All our friends are here..."

"Lopmon! Terriermon!", he heard his sister call out, as she appeared in the audience chamber.

"Suzy! What are you doing here? How'd you get here?"

"Lopmon called me", she explained.

"I did?", he asked. "It's possible..."

"Terriermon! _What did he do to you_?", Suzy was shocked to see the condition he was in. "You leave my brother alone!", she demanded of Zhuqiaomon.

She turned to Lopmon: "We have to help them!"

"I'm not allowed to evolve..."

"_I_ think you can! You're _my_ partner now, not _his_ servant..."

There was a burst of light from her digivice...

_Lopmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

The next thing Suzy knew, she was naked as a jay bird, and inside a light pink sphere around which whirled several bands of white with some design she'd never seen before.

"What... happened?", Suzy asked as she looked all around.

"I think we evolved together"

"Lopmon, I can hear you, but I can't see you".

"Trust me, lend me your power to save the others".

"Yes, I can feel it too", she agreed.

"A new evolution", Deinondramon said.

Koichi brought up the profile:

_Cherubimon_

_Mega, Vaccine_

_Cherubim digimon_

_His attack is Storm of Judgment_

"Outworlders and digimon evolving together... how disgusting! Unforgivable!" The concept of irony was completely lost on Zhuqiaomon.

Zhuqiaomon swept his wings forward, the brass railing fell down. Cracks appeared in the ceiling. Zhuqiaomon was using Suszakumon itself as a weapon.

They retreated to Taomon's force field to keep from being struck and crushed beneath the wreckage of what was once the audience chamber.

Cherubimon delivered a couple of kicks, one to the bottom jaw, snapping his mouth shut. Suzy heard teeth crack. This took out his shield.

"You shall meet your punishment for that!... Phoenix Fire!"

"I have your punishment right here: Lightening Spear!". This deflected the fireball, and struck him. His head snapped back.

"Storm of Judgment!" Zhuqiaomon was hit with many lightening strikes that blasted a hole in the ground that Zhuqiaomon dropped into and out of sight.

"We got him!", Lopmon exclaimed.

"Thanks, Lopmon", Suzy told him, "you saved Henry".

"We both did".

"Humans and digimon working together... power enough to destroy even a god", Terriermon said.

The Light of Evolution appeared once again, and Cherubimon split into two smaller figures. Once it faded out, Suzy and Lopmon were standing side-by-side. As they believed the danger past, they all devolved.

"How did you do that?", Henry asked.

"I... don't really know", Suzy explained. "I didn't want Lopmon to die, after I saw what was happening back where you left me on my digivice. Then I saw how badly Terriermon was beaten, and I didn't want him to hurt you. It just happened after that... Maybe because we saw how Takato and Guilmon did it before? I can't explain it better than that".

"How did they know?", Henry asked no one in particular.

"We don't know what the Ancient Ones really are capable of doing", Impmon explained. "They must've been keeping an eye on Suzy, maybe for as long as you've been a Tamer. They must've seen some quality in her... That really is the extent of our knowledge of them".

"We really don't know", Renamon explained. "We've been trying to find out; maybe some day, we'll understand better".

"Now that that's settled, we go get Calumon, get the others, and get out of here", Koichi said.

Just then there came an explosion from the pit into which Zhuqiaomon disappeared, a bright red glow, then something looking like a ball of glowing plasma rose into the sky. It resolved itself into a definite shape...

"He regenerated?", Koichi asked.

"Shit!", was all Renamon had to say about what was undeniable: Zhuqiaomon was back.

"You thought you could defeat me that easily?", his attitude hadn't improved one bit. "Your defiance will not be forgiven, and all of you have sealed your doom!"

He waved his wings, causing a hurricane force wind. Even worse was the devolutions to Rookie level, once they believed the danger had passed. Now, debris from the wreckage of Suszakumon posed a threat.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON**

"On!", she produced the force field just in time to protect them. "This isn't over yet, not by a long shot".

"How long can you keep the force field up?", Kazu asked.

"For the rest of my life", she answered, but that wasn't exactly reassuring. Zhuqiaomon was beginning his attack run, and Taomon dodged as the bird "god" flew past.

"Give up now", he threatened, "you can't run forever". This time, the force field was caught in his wing tip vortexes, as it tumbled through the air.

Impmon and Terriermon looked at each other, and nodded at each other.

"Hell do you think you're doing!", Kazu called out, as the two Rookies leaped from the protection of the force field.

"Night of Fire!"

"Petit Twister!"

Both attacked Zhuqiaomon together. Neither attack accomplished a thing, as they couldn't get past Zhuqiaomon's shield. Even without the shield, they would do no damage.

"Surrender now, your efforts are futile", Zhuqiaomon threatened.

"Never", Impmon called back to him. "Night of Fire!", he attacked again.

"You are nothing more than irritating insects!"

"Petit Twister!", Terriermon attacked again.

"I see now", Koichi explained, "they bought us time. He's that egomanical, he's concentrating on them, not us. Brilliant".

"We have to save them!", Suzy called out.

"Zhuqiaomon, end this!", Koichi called out, "end this now".

"I intend to", he replied, "and these two will be the first to go!"

Impmon and Terriermon were swimming for the shore.

Zhuqiaomon spread his four wings wide, and four bright yellow orbs appeared at the wing tips, bright enough to turn night into day.

"They'll never withstand that!", Lopmon said.

"Blazing Helix!", he attacked.

"No! Impmon!", Kazu called out.

"Terriermon!", Suzy said.

"Taomon! Do something!", Henry called out.

"There's nothing I can do", she apologized.

There was another energy burst from somewhere that intercepted the fiery braids, deflecting the attack, breaking it up.

"Who _dares_ defy me in my own domain?!", Zhuqiaomon demanded.

From below, Impmon and Terriermon watched the approach of a black cloud swirling in a vortex like a storm cloud about to spawn a tornado.

"Stop this fight this instant!"

They didn't need their digivices to recognize Azulongmon.

"Azulongmon! Get the _fuck_ out of my territory!", Zhuqiaomon demanded. "This is a violation of the Noninterference Pact!"

"I hope they haven't decided to join forces", Lopmon said.

"Yes, I agree, it is a violation", Azulongmon told him. "You have hidden behind that pact for far too long. You go too far, and exceeded my violation by many orders of magnitude. You abrogate to yourself titles that are not rightfully yours. You decided, all by yourself, to take back that which does not belong to you. You, all by yourself, decide to declare war on the Material World..."

"The Outworlders are a threat to our very existence! Even now, they invade, unwelcome and unwanted. They destroyed twelve loyal servants!"

"Your vision of the truth is highly selective Zhuqiaomon. You whine over the loss of your Deva, but it was you who sent them to terrorize the Outworlders. They acted in self defense..."

"I will hear no more of this bullshit! Blazing Helix!", Zhuqiaomon attacked Azulongmon.

"Aurora Force!", he retaliated.

The shock wave sent Taomon's shield sphere flying away from the area of conflict, just as Azulongmon intended, though it wasn't a comfortable trip for its occupants.

"Did he just save us?", Kazu asked.

"Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?", Koichi told him.

"Shibumi told us there was some dispute between the Sovereign", Henry explained.

"Now it's broken out into open warfare", Koichi agreed. "I just hope we can keep from becoming collateral damage".

"Enough Zhuqiaomon! Your fight against me is as pointless as your nonsensical vendetta against the Outworlders..."

"_They_ endanger our future!"

"You should be concentrating on opposing the Ancient Enemy, that is the true threat, not the Outworld!"

"They attacked first! They made that weapon..."

"Did you even _think_ to try negotiation? Did you _ever_ bother to consider that it was a misunderstanding? What have you done to dispel any misunderstanding? You issued threats instead. What _else_ were they to think, but that they were under attack?"

"We need to overcome the humans, then we can become powerful enough to take care of that Ancient Enemy"

"It is evolution itself that is endangering us, not the humans and not the Outworld. If we are to preserve our world, then we must stop evolving..."

"So that is why you locked away the digientelechia disguised as a digimon and sent it to the Material World..."

"Are they talking about Calumon?", Henry asked.

"It's pretty obvious. I knew all along that our little cream puff was more than he seemed", Koichi told him.

"I did no such thing, however, it was the wise decision to conceal it. How and why it found its way into the Material World was none of my doing".

"What is this 'Ancient Enemy'?", Koichi asked.

"I don't know", Lopmon explained, "however it isn't a digimon".

"A human then?"

"No, definitely not human. It isn't like the Ancient Ones either. No one knows what its true form is, though it is said that it's as old as digimon, or maybe even predates digimon altogether. There are legends, but they're incomplete. For a long time, it was inactive, and no one paid it much attention because we thought it gone forever. That was, until it reawakened".

"I've had enough of your arrogance Azulongmon. You invade my territory, interfere in my affairs, and your appeasement of the Ancient Enemy has brought ruin on us all".

"You speak of arrogance, but what have _your_ ideas gotten us?"

"The digientelechia, and I intend to use it to defeat the Ancient Enemy..."

"Is that what motivates you, or is it your anti-human bigotry? You saw for yourself how powerful a being resulted from combining human and digimon..."

"I _refuse_ to discuss that abomination! Blazing Helix!", he attacked again.

"No Zhuqiaomon!", Henry called out. "If that's the only way to show you...", he leaped out of the protective sphere.

"I'm comin' too!", Kazu followed.

"TERRIERMON!"

"IMPMON!"

_Impmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... CUCHULAMON!**

Cuchulamon was wearing ancient looking Celtic armour, with fleece exposed at the shoulders. The purple hair hung below a white helmet with three horns in thick braids that hung somewhat below the shoulders. Two horns projected from the sides, and curved forward. A third projected upwards from the forehead, also curving forward. He was wearing a purple cape. Red bandanna tied around the right wrist. Kazu looked around his purple Data Sphere.

_Terriermon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... SAINT GALGOMON!**

Saint Galgomon was a tall, anthrocat cyborg with ridiculously thin thighs and calves as thick as tree trunks. He wore bright green body armour, the body bristling with gun ports. Two missile launchers on his shoulders, the warheads decorated with cute kitty faces. These smiled as the warheads armed themselves. Henry's Data Sphere was bright green to match Saint Galgomon's armour. He was also equipped with a rocket pack for flight.

"Hero's Light!", Cuchulamon struck first, taking out Zhuqiaomon's shield, nearly blowing him out of the sky. "Let him have it"

"Burst shot!", Saint Galgomon fired the ordinance at the digimon god, scoring direct hits.

"Impressive", Zhuqiaomon had to agree, "but not good enough!" He drove them back with that wind he created with his wings. "You two shall be defeated!"

"Not before we make you understand...", Saint Galgomon told him.

"You shall not take over this world!"

"We don't want to...", Cuchulamon protested.

"Spare me your lies!"

"If that's what it takes, then we shall defeat you!", Cuchulamon called out... "Hero's Light!"

"Giant Bazooka!, Saint Galgomon attacked.

These attacks would have been enough to take him out again, but for Azulomngmon's intervention that deflected both attacks.

"This fighting is senseless and pointless. It's the Ancient Enemy we should be concentrating on, not each other. Zhuqiaomon: give them a chance. They really do want to help"

"That's what we've been trying to tell him!", Saint Galgomon and Cuchulamon both insisted.

Zhuqiaomon knew he had no choice. Between Azulongmon and the two Mega level digimon, he would be defeated once and for all. Taomon maneuvered her shield sphere back to the ruins of Suszakumon, where everyone was waiting.

Takato had seen the battle from a distance, and figured that he and Guilmon should lead Juri and Kenta to rejoin their companions. Fortunately, the "mag-lev" was still operational.

"Juri?", Koichi asked.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, coming here. So far, all we've seen is pain".

"I know it hurts, but we have to get through it. I know it doesn't seem like it, but you will. I know you will", Koichi tried to offer words of little comfort. "I speak from experience", he explained, "my mother... she was killed in a traffic accident a couple of years ago. It hit all of us - Dad, my sister... me - pretty hard. We didn't think we'd ever get over it, but we did. I still miss her - that won't ever go away, but the sadness does".

"My mother also died... when I was little".

"I didn't know that", he said. "Something else we have in common that I wish we didn't".

"I know you're trying to do your best..."

Now that this battle was over, Cuchulamon, Saint Galgomon, and Taomon devolved. They all assembled at the wreckage of Suszakumon.

"What's this 'true enemy'?", Henry asked.

"We don't know", Azulongmon said, "we don't know what to call it, what its name is, or even if it has a name. From what little we've been able to determine, it seems to have existed for as long as digimon. For all we know, it could be older than that, as old as the Ancient Ones, as old as the Digital World itself.

We do know that it attacked and destroyed a lot of digimon when we first arrived. The whole of the Digital World was desolation. Who came before? We do not know, except for the ruins they left behind. Were they destroyed by this Ancient Enemy? Possibly. We simply do not know that it did, or if there had been a cataclysmic war, or some other sort of natural disaster. We have had no success in deciphering the glyphs they left behind.

Then, for some reason, it departed, disappearing far beneath the layers of the Digital World. It existed outside, and went into a long dormancy. We were able to rebuild the Digital World, creating ecosystems that suited the various species of digimon. We had our problems, however, these were of our own making after coming to self-awareness, the necessary growing pains, as it were. After a few ill-fated attempts at governing the Digital World, we decided on a federated monarchy: four Sovereign with their own kingdoms, and a pact of non-interference between ourselves.

Then, for some unknown reason its dormancy broke. We figured that coming into self-awareness, the way we've grown the Digital World, the way we've evolved, reawakened it once again. At first, the destruction was mild. Then it began to grow worse. We figured that if evolution was suspended, then it might return to its harmless state, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It looks like our evolution was the very source of our destruction; we brought it on ourselves..."

"I still disagree", Zhuqiaomon objected, "it can't be appeased, and concealing the digientelechia was a _major_ miscalculation on your part, Azulongmon. All you did was give it time to increase its power, and increase the threat. That was foolish, attempting to appease it instead of destroying it when we had the chance".

"I never had that power, but something else does".

"The digignomes?", Koichi asked as a flock of them were arriving.

"The Ancient Ones, those you call 'digignomes'", Azulongmon agreed.

They were bringing something, or rather someone, with them. "Who's that?"

"Mr. Mizuno", Henry explained. He worked with my father on the original digimon project. He sometimes goes by 'Shibumi' - or at least he did in his Wild Bunch days".

"Would you, perhaps, know anything about this Ancient Enemy?", Koichi asked.

"Indeed I do, and I suppose this is why the digignomes brought me here. It's name is 'D-reaper'. You have to remember, back in those days, memory was a precious commodity, 32 Megabytes was common, and 64 Megs a luxury. Processors had but a fraction of the power they have these days. To conserve these resources, the D-reaper was written to prevent any one application from hogging too much memory. What I don't understand is why it's a threat. It's an obsolete program, hardly necessary today, and it never amounted to more than maybe a hundred lines of C code. Something must've changed it".

"What could do that?", Henry asked. "It digivolved, but wasn't that just for digimon?"

"That doesn't make much sense", Koichi agreed, "unless someone was fucking with it".

"It deleted a lot of digimon", Shibumi explained, "so it is possible that it inherited the ability to evolve from those deleted digimon. However, it doesn't appear it inherited the ability to develop self-awareness. It's still just following its original imperative: delete that which takes up too much memory, and that means digimon, and the Digital World itself".

"I told you so", Zhuqiaomon protested, "they created the Ancient Enemy. You just heard one of them admit it! That makes _three_ times they have tried to destroy us! And you _still_ won't call them the enemy!"

"Didn't you tell us that you protect the world of digimon?", Koichi pointed out. "Well, that's what Chief Yamaki was doing: protecting the world of humans from beings he feared, and which he didn't understand. He's no different from you: both of you wanted to do right, but you chose the wrong methods..."

"How _dare_ you compare me with a human!", Zhuqiaomon roared.

"You're absolutely right, I shouldn't compare you to Yamaki". He pulled out the hand-held. "Before we left the Material World, Yamaki gave us this so that we could stay in touch with him, and with the families we left behind. At least _he_ was able to learn from his mistakes. Are you admitting that a mere human can do what the 'Digimon God' can not?"

Zhuqiaomon realize too late the logical trap that was set for him, and into which he'd fallen. That pretty much shut him up.

"Now where are they taking him?", Koichi asked as the digignomes flew off with Shibumi.

Calumon had finally escaped from that "flask", and was busy climbing out of the pit where he'd been dropped. This deep pit was located right in the middle of the Sovereign's realm. He wasn't built for free rock climbing, but he had more than enough determination to make up for that.

He was also the first one to see the first of the D-reaper's chaos mass bubbling up from the D-reaper's digital lair.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"I can get rid of that error message", Daisy was explaining, "if I give the algorithm a tweak. Pretty good, huh?", she congratulated herself.

"That's fine, but it has to be better than pretty good", Janyu was explaining, "lives are depending on us".

They had a basic design for the Ark, but this was an attempt at something that had never been attempted before: design a vehicle that could be sent to the Digital World in virtual form, then bring back the Tamers and their partners, re-materialize them in physical form in the Material World. What made matters worse was that it didn't look like they had the luxury of time, nor would there likely be any "test flights". That episode of Digital Hazard had made that clear.

"Hurry up", Janyu said as he was waiting for a library to compile for testing to see if the last round of bugs had been caught. It had always been the worst part of programming.

"He's right", Yamaki said, "this is taking too long".

"I don't know what else we can do", Babel explained, "we have colleagues all over the world helping solve this problem".

"This is the kind of work I've always wanted to do", Daisy was saying, "just like old times when we were working on creating digimon".

"I like nostalgia as much as the next guy", Babel protested, "but back then lives weren't at stake".

"That's all we need: just a little bit more time, then we can bring them home... I just hope we have that little bit of time".


	25. Intermezzo: Soul Searching: Ruki Makino

**Intermezzo: Soul Searching: Ruki Makino**

"Stop looking at me like that!", Ruki screamed to the visions in her imagination, how Juri looked as she realized the reality: Leomon was dying.

Ruki made it back to the Desert Zone, but its heat and desolation mocked her. There would be no blessed relief from dehydration and hyperthermia. Those dangers existed only for those with bio-necessities, of which she had none. The only thing that kept her going was the animal simple drive to not die. There were bound to be feral digimon who would attack because that's what they did. There were others who would like the chance to take their vengeance on the Digimon Queen.

She had finally accomplished everything she thought she wanted, everything Icedevimon promised her: all emotional entanglements broken. There was no one about whom she cared, and no one to care about her. No one who could ever break the heart that had become as cold as Icedevimon's lair.

Nothing would touch her, she would touch no one, and she would never cry. She pushed everyone who offered genuine friendship away forever: Takato, Henry, Renamon. Juri.

Takato, who offered genuine friendship despite her having ordered Renamon to defeat and load his partner Guilmon. Both forgave readily and forgot easily. She thought Takato goofy for that, and Guilmon dismissed as a nit wit. Who had been the real "nit wit"?

Henry and his silly dog/bunny, who never gave up on her, as they tried to help her understand that it wasn't just another game. That digimon weren't simply objects she could manipulate as she pleased for her own entertainment. Both of whom offered sincere friendship to both of them: Ruki and Renamon. Henry had been the friend Renamon needed when she needed a friend, and Ruki couldn't be that friend.

Renamon, the digimon who was assaulting that emotional fortress she built up around herself. Who was willing to sacrifice herself so that Ruki could live, and whom she refused to abandon. That time she finally evolved to Kyuubimon to save her from that feral spider digimon. Renamon never gave up on her, not even after the nasty things she said to her for no good reason. Renamon who tried to help her see that partnership wasn't just about evolution and getting stronger, but also about bringing out the best in one another, and because of that, she'd been pushed away forever. Renamon had a new partner, the one she deserved all along.

Juri. Never again would she have to endure her silliness of that hand puppet with whom she had "conversations". Juri would never address her as "Ruki-chan". After watching her load Leomon's data, she would never forgive, never have another word to say to her.

Kenta and Kazu: she wouldn't have to endure their razzing her over having lost to Ryo. No longer would she have to listen to them telling horrible jokes only they thought funny.

All of them, at one time or another, had offered her friendship. She had treated them all very badly because she didn't want anyone getting close to her.

Rumiko: no longer would she have to endure the ordeal of shopping trips when she would rather go to the park or look for another digimon to fight. How many other "Juri's" was she responsible for? How many potential Tamers never learned what happened to their partners? No more wearing those hideous dresses she insisted on buying.

Everything, that's what it cost her: everything. She didn't even have a partner; her digivice as useless as Juri's.

The Material World Sphere was a constant mockery and a silent reproach. There were the two people who cared about her: her mother Rumiko and her grandmother Seiko. What would become of them? They were free: Rumiko was still a young woman, she could easily marry again. Perhaps there would be half brothers and sisters she would never meet, never know. She would be free to start that modeling agency she talked about once she was no longer young enough to model herself, and that was, what, five years away at the most?

Seiko was likewise young enough to go back to her career in investment banking. She might even make VP, she was still young enough. They were free. Or were they? Would they _ever_ be free? Five years, ten years, thirty years, would there ever come a day when they wouldn't glance over long at the front door, hoping that their Ruki would step through it? Would there ever come a day when they wouldn't give every red head they passed on the street an extra long glance, hoping that maybe... Long after Ruki's picture had faded from TV screens, posters, and her case just another forgotten cold case file, would they _ever_ be free?

Her father might not care, he was free of the child support payments now, wasn't he? If he didn't come to see her, what was stopping her from seeing him?

Ruki, so concerned with betrayal, who was the betrayer now?

And what of her? Sure, she might get lucky, find a kindly digimon to take her in, maybe even find a new partner, perhaps even become a success here in the Digital World. Outworlder. That one word would always separate her from any deep connections. She would always be the Outworlder, never fitting in, not completely.

Catsuramon's promises had been empty ones. Power could command devotion, but love? At best, just a simulation born of fear. Even if Lilithmon had won, even if she had legions of digimon to tame, not a single one would have loved her the way Renamon had, or at least had tried. Too little and too late for that now.

"What have I done?!", she called out into the desert.

No answer came back. It didn't have to.


	26. Recover Calumon Again

**23) Recover Calumon Again**

"I placed the digientelechia back where it belonged: inside that passage that leads to the depths of the Digital World", Zhuqiaomon admitted. "It was my desire to return it, but I was not able to convince it to return its light", Zhuqiaomon was telling them. "I sense that the Ancient Enemy is on the move, and it must be recovered".

"That is not something I can do", Azulongmon explained, "I won't be able to fit down there. This is something only the Outworlders can do for us. Are you still going to insist we do not need their help?"

"It would seem that I am left with no choice in the matter. That doesn't mean I trust them".

"That is all we ask: a chance to demonstrate to you that we are not now, and have never been, your enemies", Koichi explained. He knew he had to choose his words wisely, as he was still not convinced this Zhuqiaomon was playing with a full deck. He might be crazy, but he definitely wasn't stupid. Saying the wrong thing could set off another rage, and he didn't need that.

"It is time", Azulongmon announced, "prepare yourselves, and don't be afraid".

He did something, formed something all around them. It looked like some sort of foam, and, except for the surface upon which they stood, was no more substantial. They could poke holes in it to discover that they were flying over the whole territory of the Sovereign.

"This is unusual", Guilmon was saying. "Ummmm... Takato?", he asked, as he realized he wasn't receiving his attention.

"Hold on a sec, Guilmon", he said, as he stepped over to where Juri stood by herself as she was looking at the wall.

"Are you doin' OK?", he asked. She said nothing. "It's just that you used to be so cheerful, kind, and nice... It's just strange to see you like this".

"You're wrong", she finally said, "I'm not the least bit nice. My mother died when I was little", she explained. "Then Dad remarried, and he seemed so happy with his new wife, my step-mother. She tried, she really tried, but all I could see was an interloper. I never gave her a chance to be my step-mom... my friend. I know I disappointed Father, the way I rejected her... So you see, I'm not nice. I'm not nice at all..."

"That's not true! You're the nicest person I know"

"What's wrong with Juri?", Guilmon asked.

"She's suffering from the loss of Leomon", Koichi tried explaining, but how do you explain this to a digimon who'd never dealt with loss, not even in digimon terms, let alone human?

"Sad because Leomon's gone?", he asked.

"No", Renamon explained, "sad because she was powerless to prevent it".

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I'm afraid not, Guilmon", Koichi explained, "it just takes time. For now, all we can do is be there".

Juri sat down: "Leomon said everyone has their own destiny", she told herself. "Is it my destiny to keep losing friends? Am I destined to be alone?"

Some structure above the shaft was firing energy bursts down into its depths. Azulongmon dived as deep as he was able: "We have arrived", he announced as the conveyance he was using disappeared as quickly, and as thoroughly, as it had appeared. They found themselves on a large, floating, flat topped rock. This shaft had other floating rocks of various sizes visible.

"No sign of Calumon", Henry announced, "is this the right place?"

"No sign of the bottom either", Terriermon added.

"There is something...", Impmon pointed out. What was floating up towards them was red, and looked like globules of some sort. "What _is_ that?"

"It is Chaos", Azulongmon answered.

As they watched, one globule hit one of the floating rocks, spreading out over its surface before it simply disappeared.

"Nasty stuff", he said.

"I didn't think it would come so far, so fast", Azulongmon told them.

"I hope Calumon is OK", Kazu said.

"How much of that is down there?", Kenta asked.

"If he sticks to the sides, he should be OK", Impmon told him. "So far, it seems to be coming straight up that shaft".

"That puts us right in its path", Kazu said.

"I must put an end to this!", Zhuqiaomon declared as he dived deeper into the shaft.

"Hell's he think he's doin'?", Koichi asked.

"I don't know", Renamon replied, "but I fear the worst".

"Then he is too arrogant for his own good". Koichi was hoping this Chaos would get him. That would solve a big problem. He figured that Zhuqiaomon was being compliant only because he feared Azulongmon more than he hated Outworlders, and because it was expedient to do so right now. He wasn't convinced this Zhuqiaomon wasn't going to be a big problem once this D-reaper situation was fixed. Would he still try to make good on his threats?

Calumon was having a hard time: two steps forward and one back. He was below the water table. Channels poured water into the depths, and the rocks were slick with slime. So far, that Chaos was not coming close, and for that, he was grateful.

Zhuqiaomon came soaring back from the depths. They wouldn't be rid of him that easily. Though he didn't escape unscathed: he lost a wing, and part of another one.

"Dammit!", he swore. "I couldn't even get close enough to stop it!"

"You were warned not to underestimate the Ancient Enemy", Azulongmon reprimanded his colleague.

"The Chaos is increasing", Azulongmon announced the obvious. "Hold on tight!", he warned the others as he began to shove the rock they were on away from the center of the shaft. It struck the wall with enough force to embed itself. At least they were away from it now.

"We have to do something, and quickly", Takato announced.

"But what?", Henry asked. "How do we stop something like that, that not even a Sovereign could stop? That canyon is way too deep, and that Chaos is everywhere... It's like everything's against us".

"It looks like we were destined to fail", Juri said.

"Don't say things like that. We can't give up", Takato reprimanded as gently as he could.

"Renamon", Koichi said.

"Right", she answered.

"Hell're you doin!", Kazu called out.

"Stay and debate all you like, but we're gonna at least try to do something about this", he called back as he and Renamon slid down a narrow incline, deeper into the pit.

"Come back!", he answered, "that's crazy!"

"We should be a little bit crazy too", Impmon told his partner. "Didn't I tell you I came along to keep you dumb asses out of trouble? They just might need our help!"

"I hate this!", Kazu said as he and Impmon followed Koichi and Renamon.

"Koichi!", Takato called out to them.

"Why are they doing this?", Kenta asked no one in particular.

"Come back! It's too dangerous!", Takato called out.

"How long do you suppose it would take to hit the bottom?", Koichi asked as he looked over the thin ledge.

"Best not to think about that", Renamon replied.

"I know, just a bit of gallows humour", he explained. "I'm concerned about Juri", he confessed. "All that 'destiny' bullshit Leomon filled her head with. Not so sure that was a good thing, if you know what I mean... You know we both lost a mother?"

"Yes", Renamon agreed. "It's something I never had to consider, so I really don't know what to say. As for destiny, I never believed it was preordained, and we can choose our own destinies by the choices we make here and now. As for Juri, she'll have to decide for herself whether she chooses to remain sad or not".

"Yeah, I know... poor kid... I know how rough it can be".

"I hate sounding pedantic, but all we can do is be there for her".

They had dropped below the water table, and noticed the climb down was becoming more hazardous, as the trail they followed was getting slippery. Koichi would have fallen, had Renamon not caught him.

"Matrix Evolution: digimodify!"

_Impmon evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

"Shhhhh!", Koichi shushed Renamon. "Hear that?"

"I didn't..."

"There!", he pointed.

"Renamon! Koichi! Culu!", Calumon called out.

He climbed down farther, and reached: "Gotcha!".

"Am I ever glad to see you guys, culu?!", Calumon called out as he clung to Koichi. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever make it out of there, culu?".

"Likewise, glad we found you..."

"Look out!", Renamon pulled him back just in time to avoid a rather large mass of Chaos. The globules were getting bigger, coming up faster, and the sides of the shaft were no longer safe.

Kazu leaped from Deinondramon's back, pushing them into a niche in the wall.

"What are you two doing! Are you nuts?!", he asked. "What am I saying? Of course you are!"

"You might be right... if this keeps up, no way will we get out of here", Koichi agreed.

"I may have an idea...", Kazu said, as he fished out a card.

"Avenging Knight: digimodify!" This provided Deinondramon with two large lances.

He flew deeper into the shaft, dodging Chaos all the way until he found what he was looking for: a bottle neck. He threw one lance into the wall, leaving the handle resting on the opposite wall. He threw the other one so that they crossed.

"Raptor Slash!", he brought down a rock slide that caught on the lances, forming a plug.

"Raptor Slash!", he brought down an even bigger rock slide.

"Pretty clever", Koichi congratulated.

"That won't hold forever, best get a move on", Kazu urged them to climb.

They didn't get very far, unfortunately.

"Shit!", Kazu called out, "that didn't work!".

Chaos was bubbling up once again, and would soon be coming up as fast as ever. There was no way they'd make it out.

"Kazu, you take Calumon, and you and Deinondramon get out now", Koichi told him.

"What about you and Renamon?!"

"We're not going", Koichi told him.

"You have to!", Kazu insisted.

"Look at how fast that red shit reappeared. Yeah, it was a good idea, but it didn't stop it long enough. Deinondramon can't take all of us, and someone has to stop it before it threatens everyone. Now, get going!", Koichi ordered, as he slid down the incline until he was ten feet below Kazu's level.

"Can you do that?", Kazu asked.

"Do we have a choice? Now take Calumon and yourself, and GET OUT OF HERE!"

They slid down an even steeper incline, dropping so far that Kazu had no choice but to return.

"Go back!", Renamon ordered.

"No..."

"Please! I'm begging you"

"No way am I abandoning you..."

"If you leave now, there's a chance you'll make it. If you don't, you're finished".

"You're staying..."

"I'm a digimon: fighting is my way of life, not yours. What kind of partner would I be if I allowed any harm to come to you?"

"No, Renamon, we made a deal: I would never betray or abandon you. We're in this together, for better or worse, all the way".

"It's _certain_ death..."

"Is it, Renamon? Is it really?", he said as the Chaos was bubbling up too fast now for either of them to expect rescue from above. "It's up to us now", he said, as he slipped his hands around her waist.

"What did you have in mind?", she asked as his hands moved up through the soft fur. She wrapped her arms around him.

"A leap of faith, my love", as their lips met. Both went over the side together.

"Koichi! Renamon! NOOOOO!", Kazu had seen.

_Renamon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... SAKUYAMON!**

Koichi looked around his sky blue Data Sphere: "That light... so warm, just like the first time we made love, that night", he thought to himself.

"Aren't they beautiful, culu?", Calumon said.

"_Whatthefuck!_", Kazu called out.

Sakuyamon, like Taomon, was flighted. She propelled herself upwards, just ahead of an explosion of Chaos Mass.

"Amethyst Mandala!", she swung her staff to trace out overlapping circles of pink light. This attack broke up the Chaos Mass, filled the whole shaft with light, and also what looked like pink rose pedals.

"Who the hell is that?", Takato asked.

Henry ran a profile:

_Sakuyamon_

_Anthroform shaman digimon_

_Mega, Data_

"Renamon and Koichi must've biomerged to Mega", he told them.

"You OK?", the most anthroform digimon they'd seen yet asked.

"We are now, thanks to you", Henry said.

Azulongmon took the rest of the group back to what was left of Suszakumon, while Sakuyamon flew alongside. Once back on the ground:

"Thank you, Azulongmon", Sakuyamon said.

"It is I who should be thanking you", he told them. "Without your help, we never would recover the digientelechia".

They could finally get a good look at Sakuyamon: she stood a bit over two meters. The long platinum blond hair hung down her back in two pony tails. Canary yellow body armour that fit over her ample breasts, the helmet in the shape of a fox's head, as was the belt buckle. Charcoal gray bodysuit that was white down the front, and form fitting enough to clearly show the outline of her pussy. Purple gauntlets to the elbows with matching purple, knee high boots with stiletto heels and pointed toes, the same yellow as the body armour. Purple lipstick that matched the colour of the zig-zags under Renamon's eyes.

The brass staff she carried was sharpened to a point, the head a circle around the figure of a sitting fox. Two sets of three jingly rings at the bottom of the head, with an extra pair at the base of the point at the very top.

"Gives a whole new meaning to the expression 'fuck yourself'": Henry didn't say it out loud.

As soon as they'd devolved, Juri came running: "Koichi!", she called out.

He gave her a hug: "What is it?", he asked.

"I thought I'd lost you too", she told him.

"You won't be rid of me that easily", he told her. "Take more than some D-reaper crapping all over the carpet for that!"

"Hiya, Juri! Culu?!", Calumon greeted.

"Huh?", she looked at him.

"You look so sad, culu?", He commented as he folded his wing-like ears.

There was an enormous eruption of that Chaos Mass, this time, it sent a plume high enough to reach, and delete, the energy weapon that they'd been firing at it.

"Can _nothing_ put an end to this madness?!", Zhuqiaomon asked.

This plume divided itself into a great many streamers that broke up into smaller globules of Chaos Mass that rained down on the whole area. One dropped right beside Juri's foot.

"If I just step on it", she thought, "I could end it all right here and now... maybe be with Leomon...". She watched as it deleted a hemispherical depression in the ground.

"It is time for you to leave us", Azulongmon announced.

"No matter what happens, I _will_ protect this world!", Zhuqiaomon declared. "It's on the move again, I can feel it".

Another plume of that chaos mass erupted, this time, Azulongmon was able to stop it with his shield before it broke up into more of those globules. The eruption ended with the red mass falling back into that pit.

"How are they gonna stop it?", Kenta asked, "it's everywhere now".

"I don't know, but I have a real bad feeling about this", Koichi told him.

"If it destroys...", he began, "that could mean our partners will be the only digimon left?"

"I wonder if it'll be that simple", he told him.

Juri had her hand puppet out.

"What brought us here?", she asked.

"Destiny brought us here", her puppet answered. "Destiny's been a very bad girl".

_The Material World_

(_We're flying over West Shinjuku, the area that's under an evacuation order due to the strange "earth quakes". Seismologists have not been able to locate the epicenters of these quakes. Could these quakes be related to the appearance of that strange creature that appeared before? Could another appear at any time?_)

Yamaki was clicking his lighter: "We're having our share of problems right now. I wonder how they're doing on the other side?", he asked himself.

"What's your status?", he asked over the intercom, "how are you progressing on the transport?", he asked Janyu.

"Just a little more time... just a little more time", he replied.

"Daisy: run those tests again... Bable, Curly: calculate the return course, make sure you've gotten it right"

_The Digital World_

"What is it?", Koichi asked Renamon.

"It's... nothing", she said.

"Are you sure? For a minute there you looked..."

"Just the stress of the situation", she explained, but he found that uncharacteristically hard to believe. She had never held anything back before.

He had no more time to think about it, as there was yet another eruption. Once again, Azulongmon was able to stop it.

"It looks like it's fucking with us", Kazu said.

"Sure does", Impmon agreed. "I just wonder if this thing is really just a simple program? I'm beginning to have my doubts".

"It just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?", Kazu asked.

"What was that sound?", Ebonwumon asked.

"Is it the Ancient Enemy?", Baihumon asked.

The two remaining Sovereign were arriving.

"Indeed it was", Zhuqiaomon confirmed. "The Ancient Enemy is at last ready to attack us in force. It isn't bothering to hide itself this time".

"Has the time for us to prepare at last arrived?", Baihumon asked.

"This is what your agreement to appease the Ancient Enemy has brought us", Zhuqiaomon reprimanded.

"Enough of that, Zhuqiaomon", Azulongmon told him. "The time for recrimination has ended. Now is the time to correct past mistakes. This is why I have asked you to come here", Azulongmon addressed his three colleagues.

He next addressed Calumon: "Digientelechia...", he began. "No, Calumon...", he corrected himself. "It was my belief we should not pursue any evolution that might provoke the Ancient Enemy. That we should not desire your Light; the Ancient Ones made my desire a reality and gave you the form of a digimon. However, there is no more time left to us..."

Calumon flew above the Sovereign, not quite sure what to make of all of this.

"To protect our lands...", Baihumon began his supplication.

"To protect our species...", Ebonwumon added.

"To regain our Light...", Zhuqiaomon finished.

"Calumon, as a digimon, you have a free will", Azulongmon addressed him. "At this time, what is it that you desire?"

"I will help in any way I can, culu?", he declared.

"Culu?", he asked himself. He found it with surprising ease, and felt a momentary resentment that this knowledge had been deliberately concealed from him. Koichi was right all along, he realized. The red triangle glowed red, then bright yellow. This brought in a big flock of those "owls".

"Ancient Ones: grant Calumon that which he desires", Azulongmon supplicated.

"Digignomes!", Takato called out.

Calumon was enveloped in a multi-coloured light, as a red tetrahedron floated above him, apex down, slowly rotating. It settled into his hands.

"Shining Evolution!", he called out as multiple beams of golden light radiated all around him. The Ancient Ones were lost in the glare.

At first, the sky filled with pinpoints of light. These quickly resolved themselves into arriving digimon. A lot they recognized, and a lot they didn't. Too many to run profiles.

"The Light of Evolution called them here", Renamon was explaining.

"They're all Megas, and they came to help fight off the D-reaper", Koichi and Takato announced almost together.

Calumon dropped like a rock, and Koichi ran forward to catch him.

"Good job there", he congratulated.

"Calumon is one special digimon", Guilmon added.

"Where did the digignomes go?", Takato asked.

"They used themselves to spread the Light of Evolution all over the Digital World", Henry answered.

"So they fulfilled Calumon's desire?", Terriermon asked.

"Uh-huh", Henry answered.

"Are you saying they... sacrificed themselves?", Takato asked, worried.

"I don't know", Henry told him.

There was a late arrival: something slammed into the ground, embedding itself in the crater of its own making. Kenta went to investigate. There was a pink tail sticking up, and he pulled something small and pink from the crater. It had two small wings, long swept back ears, and its one fashion accessory was a gold collar.

"Are you a Mega too?", Kenta asked.

Kazu ran a profile:

_Marineangemon_

_Fairy digimon, Mega_

_Attack: Ocean Love_

"Did you come to fight too?", Kenta asked as it hugged his leg. He was saying something in a completely foreign language where each word began with a 'P'.

"Shouldn't you be assembling with the others?", he asked.

He hugged Kenta's chest this time.

"What a strange little digimon", he said. "They're over there", as he pointed Marineangemon in the direction where the others were gathering.

Kenta wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Sadness: what an incomprehensible idea", Juri's hand puppet told her.

"We must eliminate the superfluous", she agreed, as she followed the growling puppet towards the wreckage of the palace.

Koichi was receiving a message on the hand-held: "It's from Yamaki", he announced, "he says the Ark they've been working on is ready. We can come back", he announced.

"They did it?", Takato asked.

"Would seem".

"We're going home!", Suzy announced, as she gave Lopmon another smothering hug.

"Yes, we are. I knew Dad wouldn't let us down!", Henry agreed with his sister.

"Where'd Juri get to?", Kenta asked.

"Whaddaya mean!", Takato reprimanded, "weren't you supposed to be watching her?!"

"Yamaki says he needs a word with Impmon", Koichi announced.

_Impmon:_

_We tried to design the Ark to be compatible with jet fighter design. I'm hoping that there are enough similarities with Violet Zone fighters. We also designed an AI program into its systems, so you should not have the occasion to intervene if all goes according to plan. If there should be any problems, we're counting on you to solve them, and we'll keep an open frequency in case you require any assistance. Bring them home safe for us_

_Mitsou Yamaki and Janyu Wong_

Janyu had heard about Impmon's Digital World career from Terriermon.

He took the stylus to tap out a reply:

_Understood. Ready to kick the tires and light the fires._

_Impmon_

"JURI!", Takato called out as he approached the ruins. "JURI! WHERE ARE YOU?! WE'RE READY TO GO HOME! COME BACK!"

"There she is!", Lopmon called out as he pointed.

"Juri, why'd you run off like that? I was worried about you"

"No reason", she replied. Takato didn't notice the unusual look in her eyes.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"The families of the children have been notified", Riley was reporting.

"Thanks", Janyu told her. She lingered.

"Can I ask you something?", she said.

"What's on your mind?"

"This Ark... what, exactly, is it?"

"It was a tool we used in our studies", Janyu explained, "an interface that connected humans to the Internet".

"I thought that was called a 'web browser'?"

"I didn't mean 'connected' in the usual sense of the term. The intent was to _really_ connect humans to the 'Net, full consciousness, not just pulling up text on a screen. More like a virtual reality experience".

"Is such a thing possible?"

"Shibumi thought so. However, he grew impatient and tried to project his consciousness into the Digital World. It damn near killed him in the process. Landed him in intensive care, in a coma. This is why Yamaki was having such a hard time finding him. His security guys didn't think to check the hospitals. For some reason, he's out of the coma, and they're calling it a 'miracle'. So far, we haven't explained the reason behind his condition".

Yamaki was explaining further:

_First, a beam of light will appear. Go where that beam is, and the Ark will appear there. I'm sending you the nav._ _program... It took three weeks to calculate how to bring you back. If you miss the Ark, I don't know when, or if, there will be another chance. It is imperative that you arrive on time_

_The Digital World_

The screen of the hand-held displayed a countdown: "We have 90 minutes to get there", Koichi announced.

"Henry, shouldn't we fight too?", Terriermon asked.

"If we miss this chance, I don't know when we'll get another one", Henry objected.

"Digimon Tamers", Azulongmon announced, "your work here is finished. We digimon will fight for the Digital World. You are needed in the Material World".

"Digimon who evolve with humans", Zhuqiaomon added, "I have yet to accept that lifestyle of yours. However, if it is your desire to leave for the Material World, I shall not oppose you. You may go with these humans if that's your desire".

"My Lord, let me express my sincerest gratitude", Lopmon addressed the Sovereign.

"That's just so fucking generous of you! Not so much as a 'sorry bout that' for having tried to kill us", Koichi kept that thought to himself. No sense pissing him off now.

"We still have a problem", Henry pointed out, "we have no idea as to where this beam of light is going to appear..."

"Calumon", Azulongmon addressed him, "now that the purpose of your existence is complete, I leave it up to you: you may live as a digimon if that is your desire".

"I _am_ a digimon, culu? I have always considered myself a digimon, culu?"

"Farewell Digimon Tamers", Azulongmon announced as another of his foam cars appeared.

As it was flying off, they stuck their heads above its top: "Goodbye your Excellencies!", they called back. They also saw yet another eruption of that Chaos Mass. This time, it attacked the Material World Sphere. They had no idea what, if anything, that would do back home. If it did affect the Material World, they were certain it wouldn't be in a good way.

Ruki also saw it happen from a distance in that desert, but didn't know what it was, or why it happened. She barely survived an attack from some Kurisarimon looking for some pay back. They would have succeeded but for their sudden transformation into three diaboromon, and something else that had diverted their attention.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

They all felt another one of those "earthquakes". That was the least of their problems.

"What's this? A virus?", Rob McCoy was asking.

"There's something corrupting the mainframe's memory, filling it with garbage". Daisy explicated.

An alarm was sounding in the control room: "We can't send the Ark now, not without the memory... We can't rescue the children!", Janyu was explaining.

"Who would do such a despicable thing? Is this malicious script kiddies again... Or something worse that doesn't want them to come back?", Yamaki asked.

"No idea", Janyu told him.

"Are you saying we've lost them?", Yamaki asked. "Only Hypnos has the capability..."

"Moumentai!", Janyu called out.

"Huh?", Yamaki asked.

"Moumentai, there is a way", Janyu explained: "distributed computing. If we can connect together enough systems, we can still pull this off. You need to break into every Internet connected computer, and ask if they'll help us, If we start right away... we just might be able to meet the deadline"

"So you're going to use the memory of Internet connected computers?", Yamaki asked.

"That's the idea, yes"

"We need your urgent help to save a group of children", was the message that appeared on every system with a current Internet connection. Homes, offices, school computer labs, Internet cafes, wireless connections: everyone received the same message.

_The Digital World_

Azulongmon's "cloud car" read off the information from Koichi's nav program and arrived back in that desert space where they'd first arrived, though not anywhere near their original entry point, but that didn't matter.

"Are you sure this is it?", Takato asked. "I don't see any beam of light".

"We still have 65 minutes", Koichi told him. The trip had taken ten minutes.

"Renamon? There's that look again...", Koichi told her.

"I have to go..."

"Go? Go where! Now! Of all the times...", he objected.

"I can't ask you to come and risk not returning..."

"I don't know what this is about, but I go where you go".

"Wait!", Takato objected, "you aren't _seriously_..."

"I promise we'll be back in time", Renamon told him.

"Promise all you want, you _can't_ be sure!"

"Then we'd best not waste any more time, Renamon?"

She carried Koichi, as she could move much faster than he could.

"I don't get it", Kazu was saying.

"Some people don't understand team work", Kenta was saying.

"If Renamon says it's important, then it damn well is. I've known her long enough to know that", Impmon told them.

They'd landed on the top of a tall mesa, and Koichi was scanning the desert through his field glasses.

"You're _sure_ you heard Ruki's scream? No chance this is just your imagination?"

"I'm certain it wasn't. She's out there, somewhere..."

"And why are we doing this?"

"I've always thought only of attacking: how to defeat my opponents. However, when I became Sakuyamon, I understood the place of compassion, of mercy..."

"I thought we already discussed this?"

"I was only doing what you asked of me at the time; I understood, but just in the intellectual sense. I never really felt it. Regardless of what she did, she was still my partner once, and that means something. Don't you agree she deserves a second chance? A chance to try to make it right? I'll take Ruki back with us. What do you think?"

"I think we're not gonna win any popularity contests with the other Tamers, and I think we damn well best find her fast so's we don't get left behind".

Renamon leaped from one mesa to the next.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

Janyu heaved a sigh of relief: "I think we've made it. We have more than enough memory now. Recalculate the Ark's re-entry", he ordered just to make certain.

"Only the Wild Bunch...", Yamaki said.

_The Digital World_

"I see something", Koichi said.

"Is it..."

"Can't tell, but I don't see anything else that's a possibility. If it isn't her..."

"We go back", Renamon explained. "If we can't find her, that's one thing, but I couldn't live with myself if I had never tried". ...

"Ten minutes", Takato was watching the comm.

"There!", Guilmon called out, pointing to the sky.

This time, a green data stream was forming.

"Is that it?", Henry asked, "the beam of light we were expecting?"

"Let's go!", Kazu called out. It couldn't be anything else. ...

"RUKI!"

"RUKI!"

They called out, as they ran for the thing Koichi had seen.

Ruki was lying in the sand, having gone as far as she could. She looked up: "Renamon?", she asked. One last cruel joke her imagination was playing on her? The anthrovixen knelt by her side.

"Can you stand?", she asked.

Ruki forced herself to her feet, but would have fallen right back down, had Koichi not caught her.

"We're taking you home"

"Idiots", she reprimanded, "You should'a left me..."

"Dammit! Night! We should have been back by now!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... KYUUBIMON!**

Koichi placed Ruki over Kyuubimon's back, and climbed on behind her, as the kitsune took off at the fastest gallop he'd seen. ...

"This is your only chance", the message came over the comm. The Ark appeared as promised, a yellow and white vehicle with a rather clumsy, unaerodynamic look to it. It rode down that green beam of light, the rear hatch opening.

"But Renamon and Koichi aren't back yet! What do I do?", Takato asked himself.


	27. Home Again, Home Again

**24) Home Again, Home Again**

The Ark was hovering, just above the ground. A hatch had opened, and Impmon was the first on board. He was pleased to see that they hadn't forgotten, and that the seat in the cockpit had a gap between seat and back to accommodate his tail. He pulled the three point restraint over his shoulders and between his legs. He scanned the instrument panel, seeing that all the flight instruments were where they should be, and arranged the same as the fighters he flew.

Radio and transponder mounted to a console to the right of the seat, frequency and code preset. The quadrant below the engine instruments. Overhead, the navigation and internal system panel. As of yet, there was no power.

A stiff breeze blew in from the desert, strong enough to push the Ark into a mesa.

"Suzy and Lopmon: get on board now", Henry told them. "Kazu, Kenta: help Juri".

The green data stream broke up into four filaments of light, surrounded by red rings at regular intervals. Inside, the systems were powering up.

Impmon keyed the mic: "This is the Ark".

"Yamaki here, Impmon".

"So far, so good. We're powered up, and should be on our way directly".

"If all goes well, you should be back in the Material World within the half hour".

"Takato!", Guilmon called.

"Stay there, Guilmon", he ordered, "you wouldn't want to miss out on trying Dad's Guilmon Bread would you?"

"What about you?"

"Koichi and Renamon aren't back yet. I _knew_ this would happen. I _knew_ it. Why did you have to go?" ...

"We really are idiots", Koichi was saying.

"I'll get you back yet", Kyuubimon promised, "it's never too late until it's too late".

"Can you keep this pace up?", he asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine". ...

"Juri, culu?", Calumon asked. "Why aren't you saying anything, culu?"

Calumon had missed everything: he wasn't there to see Juri become Leomon's partner, was at best vaguely aware she had some connection to Leomon, had missed seeing the battle where Leomon gave his life. After being rescued, restoring the Light of Evolution had left him semi-conscious. Between rescuing him, then fighting off that Chaos Mass, the run for the evacuation point, no one had the chance or time to explain it to him.

Kazu, sitting just behind the cockpit, asked: "Juri... are you alright? 'Cause we're going home".

"Going home, culu?", Calumon reiterated.

"We're moving!", Suzy announced.

"Takato!", Henry called out.

Takato had his back to the Ark, and didn't see it start up.

"Already!", he called out. "What should we do?"

"Henry, let's take a look...", Terriermon suggested.

"Stay here", Henry ordered. "Takato!", he called out, "move your ass!"

Takato had delayed, and now had to run for it. The Ark was gaining distance on him at an alarming rate. He would have made it, but for tripping and falling over his feet.

"Impmon! Stop! Takato isn't on board!", Guilmon called out.

"I know. I'm working on it. So far, I've figured out how to keep that hatch open... Not exactly like anything I ever flew before".

"Takato, hurry up and jump in!", Kazu ordered.

"Right!", Takato called back as he got up, running.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"Yes!", Yamaki exclaimed, "The Ark is coming back, on schedule, and all systems are nominal" They were monitoring its progress on the main view screen.

"Everyone: stay safe", Janyu added.

"Course correction", Riley announced, "X + 0.0057; Y - 0.2451. Tractor beam is still stable, output at 75%"

"To think we've come this far with distributed computing", Rob McCoy was telling himself.

_The Digital World_

Takato _almost_ made it, just barely catching Henry's fingertips. It still wasn't enough for him to get a hold, to pull him into the Ark.

Guilmon tried next.

"Look out!", Henry called out as he grabbed Guilmon, "you almost fell out yourself".

"Takato!", he called out. Now, it was obvious that Takato wasn't going to be able to get on. The Ark was too high now.

"IMP-MON!", he called out.

"I know, Guilmon, I know". It was time to try something he had wanted to avoid. He pressed a button on the joystick. A klaxon sounded. "Warning: autopilot disengaged. Warning:..." A second press silenced the alarm.

"Impmon! What the _hell_ are you doing!", Yamaki's call came over the radio.

"Sorry 'bout that, but we still don't have Takato, Koichi, and Renamon on board yet", he explained.

"They were _supposed_ to be on board! If you miss the window...", Yamaki paused to get updated information, "...you have 38 seconds. If you're not underway..."

"Then I set down on the Digital World. We're all coming home... or none of us are"

"IMPPPP-MONNNN...", he turned the volume all the way down.

"It... stopped?", he asked himself.

"Takato!", Guilmon called out to him.

"Hey!"

"I thought I heard...", Takato said to himself. Was it just the wind?

"Hey!", this time, there was no doubt about it. "Takato!"

"Koichi!", he said, "and Kyuubimon!". They were just now appearing out of the swirling dust. "When we go home, we all go together".

"Need a lift?", Koichi asked as he held out a hand. Takato grabbed on, swung himself onto Kyuubimon's back. She gave a mighty leap, sent all three through the open hatch just before devolving to Renamon so that she could fit through the hatch.

Impmon closed the hatch, and returned to auto pilot.

"Jeez, Koichi, you transform into a girl just once and you pick up all their bad habits: girls are always late...", Kazu was razzing him when he saw who he'd brought.

"It's _her_", he said with as much contempt as he could. "You know what she did?"

"I was there, remember".

"If you still brought her... what more can I say?"

"Chief, we have everyone and will be on our way. We've also recovered Ruki", Impmon was explaining, "you'll need to inform her folks, as I'm sure they must be quite worried".

"It's fortunate you haven't missed the window. You gave us all back here a helluva scare".

"Sorry 'bout that".

"Don't apologize: that's why we wanted a pilot on board", Yamaki explained. "We alerted Ruki's parents that you rescued her. How she found her way into the Digital World..."

"It's a long story, just be glad you can hear it from her".

"Pee pee puu".

"Huh?", Kenta asked. From his pocket...

"A... digivice?"

Another small figure appeared:

"Ahhhh! I see... I get it now!", he said. "Marineangemon was my partner all along!", he laughed.

"My partner is a Mega: Marineangemon!"

Outside, the Ancient One who'd delivered Marineangemon and the digivice fell back to the Digital World.

"Renamon went back to find Ruki...", Henry was saying to someone.

"They're OK with... someone like me going back?", Ruki asked herself. "Someone like me..."

Kenta pulled Marineangemon back protectively.

"I just want to touch him", Kazu protested.

"No way!", Kenta complained.

"Someone... like me...", Ruki was thinking.

Something rocked the Ark: "the Frontier: we arrived", Impmon announced.

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"Keep going!", Janyu encouraged as he watched the Ark's progress.

"They've reached the Frontier", Riley announced. "Preparing for re-materialization"

"C'mon keep going!", McCoy encouraged. "Almost there! Keep going: bring the children back safely. Its course shifted", he called out.

"Leave that to me", Babel called back.

"Notify the families of the change in the materialization point", Daisy suggested. "Get me those calculations!"

"Here!", Babel said.

She stuck a stick-pin onto a map: "Here! Chou Park".

_The Digital World_

"Juri, we're almost there", Takato thought to himself as he looked back at Juri.

"Juri, we're almost there", Koichi told her as he placed a hand over the head of her hand puppet. "Hang in there".

"Huh?", Takato asked as Koichi said the very words he'd just been thinking. Renamon was now holding her x-partner in her lap.

It felt as if something struck the Ark.

"What the hell was that?!", Henry called out.

"We just lost that path of light", Impmon informed them. That wasn't the only problem he had: all systems were down, all power lost.

"Huh?", Takato asked.

"We're falling!", Suzy called out. The Ark was sinking, tail first.

"So the Ark's power lasted just this long?", Lopmon asked.

"You gotta be _shitting_ me!", Kazu called out. "After getting this far..."

"Is this for real?", Kenta asked.

"Since the path is gone, the Ark lost its direction", Henry said.

"Will allayez SHADDAP!", Impmon demanded. "This is no time for panic!" Impmon knew that aphorism of aviation well: if ten seconds is all you have, best to think for nine and act for one than the other way around.

"If I were the auxiliary power, where would I be?", he asked himself. A red panel just below the quadrant with a latch... he pressed it and the panel swung open. "Ah-hah, so that's where you're hiding". He flipped the large circuit breaker into the upward position: the universal "on" position for all aircraft toggle switches. The power came back on.

"Mayday", Impmon called over the radio, "we have a Mayday situation..."

Nothing but static came back.

"Yamaki?"

Still nothing but static.

"Dammit!"

_The Material World: Hypnos HQ_

"What's going on!", Yamaki demanded.

"I don't know", Riley replied. "Something's interfering... we lost all contact with the Ark, and our communications are being jammed. Whatever it is, it doesn't want the Ark to return".

"Is there anything..."

"We're still working on it", McCoy broke in over the intercom. "It looks like another attack from that virus that corrupted and locked out the mainframe's memory. We still haven't figured it out".

"Then we lost the children?", Yamaki asked.

"Impmon will be flying blind". McCoy told him.

"Is this it?", Janyu asked, "Henry? Suzy?"

"Prepare for re-materialization", Yamaki ordered. "It's all on Impmon now. We assume he'll follow the original course".

_The Digital World_

"What do we do now?", Kazu asked.

"I try to recalculate the course based on our last known heading, how long we've been down, how far we drifted", he said as he worked the flight calculator slide rule. "Then we hope for the best and that we don't spend the rest of our lives in Yamaki's mainframe".

"Everyone: grab onto something and hold on tight", Impmon called back as he began the main engine ignition sequence.

"It's either the Material World or oblivion", he said as he shoved the twin throttles to the forward stops. They could feel the vibration through the floor plates. The Ark's tail slide slowed, reversed, and the Ark regained lost altitude. Impmon swung back on course...

"Shouldn't we land back on the Digital World?", Henry asked, "try again later?"

"You saw what happened", Impmon explained. "Something disrupted that path of light, cut off our communications - something that doesn't want us to leave. You want to go back and face that instead?"

"What?" Koichi asked, "that red shit? Zhuqiaomon?"

"I don't know, and something tells me we're better off not finding out. At the very least, we may never have another chance".

"He did it! We're breaking through!", Kenta called out. A bright light appeared outside the windscreen.

"It ain't over yet", Impmon admonished.

_The Material World_

A pinpoint of light appeared at the bottom of a shallow reflecting pool. No one was there to see it. The pinpoint flared into a column of white mist that glowed brightly against the darkness. Janyu and Yamaki arrived in time to see it.

"The children?", he asked.

They, with the parents of the Tamers, and Hypnos personnel, ran to the reflecting pool. The digital field was waning, as the Ark appeared. They had to wade. Everyone was waiting behind the guard rail. There were happy reunions. The parents had brought hot coffee and cocoa. Kazu's father gave him a playful bop on the head. Takato's parents greeted Takato and Guilmon with a mug of hot cocoa and affectionate pets.

Koichi's father and grandmother were waiting for him and Renamon.

"I thought you'd be back in the 'States by now?", he asked. "Sis?"

"I delayed my return", she explained, "no way was I going until you two were back".

"I had to come", his younger sister explained. "You go off to Japan and walk right into a real life Godzilla movie? I never would'a thought..."

"Renamon is a digimon", he objected.

"And so were those Deva that caused so many problems", Renamon explained, "but I get your point. Odd way life has of imitating art".

"So, Renamon, we meet at last".

"I brought back a little something", Koichi said as he poured a little of the clear liquid into everyone's coffee: "a going-away present from the Gekomon".

"What is _that_?!", his father asked.

"Gekomon moonshine: "brewed and distilled from dust packets".

"That's got quite a kick".

"Yeah, don't it?"

Impmon was the last off the Ark, staying behind to secure the craft.

"Thank you for bringing Henry and Suzy back to us", Mr. and Mrs. Wong thanked him.

"You'll always have my gratitude", Yamaki told him.

"Back in the saddle, it comes back to you quickly".

"I'm just glad you were there... what happened?"

"Someone, or something, didn't want us leaving for some reason. Those weren't accidents".

Not all reunions were happy ones.

"Ruki?", her mother asked, "what is it? I thought you...".

"I...", she started, swallowing hard and blinking back the tears, "...did some... horrible things... back there".

Her grandmother noticed how the others were avoiding her.

"Horrible things, even before".

"If it has anything to do with your running off", Seiko told her, "we're just glad to have you back".

"It's more..."

"C'mon, we'll take you home", Rumiko said as they headed away from the park.

"We finally were able to contact Juri's parents", Riley was telling Yamaki. "They went to Matsumoto and are staying with Juri's step mother's parents, but..."

"But what?", Yamaki asked.

"Well... they said that if such a selfish and inconsiderate daughter wants to come home, then she can come by herself... I don't think they really meant it, but..."

"Huh?", Takato told himself, as he'd over heard.

"I'll go... I'll go with her!", he declared to the surprise of his parents and Yamaki.

"Juri doesn't have anyone", he explained to his parents. "I can't let her go like that".

"All the way to Nangano Prefecture?", his father objected.

"Alright then...", Yoshi said.

"Ehhhh?", Takato asked.

"After going all the way to the Digital World, what's a trip to Matsumoto?", she pointed out.

It's tough, being a man, eh?", his father asked.

"Just remember, come to your aunt's place in Zushi when you see Juri off", Yoshi reminded. "Promise?"

"Thanks"

"Matsumoto, huh?", Yamaki said as he consulted his laptop for train schedules. Most of the transportation into and out of Shinjuku had been discontinued, but he was able to get a reservation on one of the last trains out.

He was interrupted by the sudden disappearance of the Ark. This wasn't supposed to happen, and they had brought a crane and flatbed to bring it back to Hypnos. For some reason, it had disappeared, and would have taken with it anyone on board with it. He considered it very fortunate that everyone had gotten off. Just one last mishap ending a trip that was filled with them.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Guilmon looked anxiously. It was 11:50PM, and the train was scheduled to leave any second now. Takato came running, carrying six boxed meals, and Calumon.

"I had to go all the way to the front of the station to get these", he explained.

"Always running to catch a ride at the last second", Guilmon reprimanded.

"I guess you're right", he said as the doors closed and the train pulled out of the station.

There were only two other passengers in the car: Juri, and another traveler who was sound asleep in his seat. Probably did a lot of traveling, he decided, if he could nod off like that.

The conductor looked very unsettled.

"I bought him a ticket too! I didn't know what else to do, so I paid the adult fare for him", Takato explained.

"Isn't that one of those digimon?!", the conductor asked. "They're dangerous!"

The rampage of those Deva had taken their toll. Before the rampage of the Deva, especially Vikaralamon. people didn't act that afraid of digimon.

"That's not true!", Takato insisted. "Guilmon helped _save_ the city!"

"Uh-huh", Guilmon agreed with a nod.

"I thought that was a bigger digimon, wasn't it?", the conductor was saying. "The colour's the same though..."

"Well, that's when Guilmon evolves to Ultimate".

"Takato, are you going to argue all night? I haven't had a bite all day", he pointed out.

"So that's why you need all those lunch packs? He seems easy going enough..."

"Well, that's Guilmon: he's pretty laid back".

The conductor checked their tickets: "I didn't see any red dinosaurs on my train".

"Thanks", Takato said.

"Yeah, thanks", Guilmon agreed.

"Going to Matsumoto?"

"Yeah"

"Have a pleasant trip".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Ruki", her mother told her, "yeah, we were very upset and angry that night... when you ran away. That's in the past, and we're just happy to see you back..."

"That's not what I'm talking about!", Ruki objected, "you don't understand... you wouldn't say that if you knew..."

"If we knew what?", Seiko asked.

Ruki told them all about Renamon and being a Tamer. The way she betrayed Renamon's friendship, how Renamon found a new Tamer. About choosing Icedevimon over Renamon...

"You hurt a Friend's feelings... I wish you would've introduced us to Renamon".

"How could I explain? Besides... it's more than that..."

Ruki explained about Catsuramon. Since she'd loaded the Deva, she knew everything he knew: "He said everything I wanted to hear, everything I thought I wanted, he promised. He and Icedevimon - they knew just what I wanted to believe... That's why I went to the Digital World... how I became... Lilithmon... Renamon and Koichi... they risked _everything_ for me, and I didn't deserve it... They should'a left me..."

"How can you say that!", Rumiko said, not believing what she was hearing.

"If you..."

"Ruki", she explained gently, "I know I pushed you. May be a little too hard. I was happy for you that you were interested in Battle Cards, and we were both proud of you when you won the tournament".

"That's right", Seiko agreed.

"But you aren't going to make a living playing Battle Cards, and I wanted you to show as much interest in something you could make a living doing. You will be out of elementary school next year, and you need to begin thinking of your future. You will have to earn much in this life, but there is one thing you will _never_ have to earn, and that's my love. We, your grandmother and I, could never stop loving you no matter what you did, or think you did. We will always be there for you, no matter what".

"We always will", Seiko agreed.

"You...", Ruki swallowed hard, "...mean it?"

"More than anything else. It's been a long day", Rumiko said, "I'll draw you a nice warm bath, and you go and get ready for bed. I'm sure you had a very long day".

"I don't deserve you guys".

"We'll hear no more of that talk".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

They'd been on their way for long enough for Guilmon and Calumon to polish off four of those boxed lunches. They both had drifted off, but Juri just sat there, not touching her lunch, not saying a single word the whole time.

"Juri, it's like a dream come true, being with you like this, on a train ride together", he was saying to her. "You and I talked a lot in the past and... I wondered if, maybe, you liked me, you know, even just a little bit?

I mean... just a thought about whether it might be true... In other words... I'm not like that! I, you...", this wasn't going so well. He got up and took a seat behind her.

"It bothers me... seeing you like this... I was happy... I was happy when you became a Tamer and we could go on an adventure to the Digital World together. Then Leomon died and that made you feel so sad. I said 'I have to bring you back to the Material World'. That's why I...", he paused.

"The feeling I get when it seems you won't talk to anyone, like everything just disappeared..."

Takato was beginning to suspect he'd somehow failed with his intentions to bring her back safe. Did a piece if that Chaos Mass hit her? Did it delete some vital part of Juri? Was she going to be like this forever...

"That feeling... it bothers me... I...", he couldn't go on.

"Energy: 688 kilo calories

Protein: 24.6 grams

Fat: 15.7 grams

Carbohydrates: 12 grams"

"Juri", Takato said. Reading off the label on the box was a start. At least she was talking.

Takato saw the time was 4:32AM as they got off at the Matsumoto station. Guilmon and Takato led her down the steps leading to the street. Juri's father was waiting by a cab.

"Good evening... errrr... good morning", Takato greeted.

"Come on", he roughly pulled Juri forward. "Thank you for taking care of Juri", he said, but not as if he meant it.

"Uhhhh", was all Takato could say as he watched the cab pull away. At least Calumon was with her.

"What an asshole", Guilmon said.

"Total fuck-nozzle", Takato agreed. He could only hope he wasn't physically abusive. Or that Calumon could somehow protect her from a beating. He couldn't say it wasn't a definite possibility. "I hope he doesn't..."

Her step mother and younger brother were waiting. She gave Juri a welcome home hug, but Calumon didn't like the way he saw Juri grin. Her parents didn't see it.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Hypnos had brought something else back along with the Ark. The first to see was a night watchman on a routine patrol. He'd gone to investigate a strange noise he'd heard. In the subbasement, the floor had cracked. Some red substance was oozing from the fractured floor. As he watched, the substance spread over the entire floor. Fortunately, he knew better than to touch it. He had never seen anything like this, never heard of any such thing.

By sunrise, it had filled the lower levels and was beginning to pour through the doors and onto the street.

Takato slept in the waiting room of the train station, and woke up at about 8:00AM. There were just two others there, watching something intently on the overhead TV. The sound was off, but the text crawl was saying that this was a special report.

"That's...", Takato called out.

"Huh?", Guilmon rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"It can't be! It can't be true! This can't be happening!"

The entire Hypnos building was surrounded by a slightly shimmering red, formless, mass. ...

"Did we do this?", Yamaki said as he and Janyu stood by, watching. "Did we bring it in? Is this why they wanted to stop the Ark?" He didn't know which "they" to blame: the Digimon Sovereign, that Digimon "God", someone else?

"I don't know. If the Ark hadn't returned, maybe it would make no difference? How could we leave them behind?"


	28. An Unwelcome Visitor

**25) The Unwelcome Visitor**

("_I repeat: The mandatory evacuation area covers Shinjuku's 1-chrome through 4-chrome, and 6-chrome. Also part of 5-chrome in North Shinjuku..._")

Yamaki and the Wild Bunch had set up temporary shop in one of Hypnos' remote monitoring vans. The same unmarked, black vans whose roofs bristled with antennae that had become rather common sights ever since the appearance of the first Wild Ones.

"What's this cable connected to?", Daisy was asking. They were busy modifying the equipment to duplicate as much of Hypnos' capabilities as they could.

"Let's see", Riley went to check it out. "It's small, but has most of Hypnos' basic functionality", she was explaining to Babel, who was having a difficulty getting an Internet connection. "Can you use it?", she was asking.

"We'll use anything and everything we can", he replied... "Dammit!", he swore, as the satellite receiver failed to acquire a signal once again. "Is there another way?"

"Ummmm...", she thought about it. "Chief Yamaki!", she called out.

"In a sec", he answered. He handed a stack of DVDs to Rob McCoy: "I want you to have these", he explained, "Hypnos' files from last night.

"Thanks", he replied. "Curly", he called out, "run an analysis on this".

"You got it", she replied.

Janyu was just outside, trying to place a cell phone call while he still could.

"Ahhhhh... Cho-sensei?", he asked. "My apologies for my family's over running your house. I appreciate your letting them stay there until I can make more permanent arrangements... Is Henry there?"

"Henry", he said, "leave that strange phenomenon to us, OK?"

"Ummmm... OK"

"Promise me"

"I... promise", Henry said, though with forced conviction. He didn't want to give his father anything more to worry about at a critical time like this, but he already knew it was a promise he couldn't keep.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Takato and Guilmon were headed back from Matsumoto. They pretty much had the whole compartment to themselves, as most of the traffic was headed away from Tokyo.

"Aren't you sleepy?", Guilmon asked, as he knew it had been a rough trip. Juri's father hadn't been gracious enough to invite them to stay the rest of the night, so they had to sleep in the terminal while awaiting the morning train.

"I'm OK", he reassured. "I don't have time to be sleepy right now".

A passenger across the aisle was holding a newspaper, but it was obvious he wasn't looking at it. He finally folded the paper: "I'm going to inform the conductor about this", he said to himself.

"Did I do something wrong?", Guilmon asked.

"No, you didn't. It's just with all these problems, people are getting leery of digimon. Nothing we can do about it... It's unfortunate".

"Next stop is Hachioji, Hachioji, Hachioji...", came an automatic announcement. "Those passengers transferring to the Yokohama line, this is the transfer station".

Takato consulted his map. He remembered his promise to go to his aunt and uncle's home in Zushi. He had a crisis of conscience here, and a promise he couldn't keep.

("_The Chou line's schedule has been interrupted. We ask that passengers board the train now for a short wait_")

"Takato! Is that you?", his mother asked over the pay phone. "Where are you? Hurry up and get to Zushi, and don't take any side trips. Your aunt and uncle are waiting for you".

He was going to say something, but couldn't.

"OK? Takato, are you listening?! Takato!"

"Sorry!", he finally said, "I can't go just yet", as he hung up.

"Takato?", Guilmon asked.

"C'mon!", he said as he ran off.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Juri's little brother was chasing Calumon down a hallway. He tripped and fell. He began crying.

"What's wrong, culu?", Calumon asked the boy.

"That's what you get for running in the hallway", his mother reminded him. She knelt to check on him.

"Looks like you're just fine after all", she told him. "It doesn't hurt... It doesn't hurt", she said as she stroked his head. "There, there..." He stopped crying.

"Great, culu?!", Calumon encouraged.

"Culu?", Juri appeared, wearing yellow PJs and a maroon sweater. She stood there with a distinctly vacant look.

"The restroom?", her step mother asked. "It's that way..."

She stepped forward, shoving the boy to the ground, pinning him by the shoulders: "It doesn't hurt... It doesn't hurt...", she said in a distinctly unfeeling, almost robotic, manner. This scared her little brother, who was on the verge of tears again.

"Juri?", her step mom asked, as she looked back with that same blank expression. "What do you think you're doing?". She walked off with no further comment.

"Is there something wrong with Juri, culu?", he asked, suspecting the worst, but not knowing what.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Hell do they think they're doing?", Koichi asked Renamon.

"I highly doubt that conventional munitions are going to stop it", she answered.

The SDF was gathering next to the park. Trucks, APCs, and tents had been set up. It was obvious that some sort of operation was in progress and that this was the command post. There was a company of soldiers wearing chemical warfare gear assembling.

"I know that, and you know that, but they don't know that", Koichi replied.

Their neighborhood was already starting to fill with refugees fleeing from the north.

"I suggest we catch a flight out", Doyle was saying, "while we still can".

"Sis and Gran should go", Koichi agreed, "but we're gonna be needed", he objected.

"Like hell..."

"Mr Lonnegan", Renamon interrupted, "it's partially our fault. If our Sovereign hadn't tried appeasing it, this wouldn't be happening. I have a responsibility..."

"May be _you_ do, but _we_ don't..."

"It's still my responsibility", Koichi objected. "I know what that is, and they don't. Yeah, maybe we'd be safe in America, but for how long? What if that shit starts showing up there? It'll be that much bigger, stronger, and harder to fight. Best to fight it here and now, rather than there and later... I'm not going anywhere".

"I agree", Renamon said. "The longer we wait, the worse it's going to get".

"What will you do?"

"Right now, I have no idea... Try to contact someone in charge? Let them know? After that..."

"Takato? Henry?", Renamon asked.

"Takato's probably still on his way back... This is sure to play hell with train schedules".

He tried the number he had for Henry's apartment, but got no answer: "Looks like they bugged out already. Since his father works for Hypnos, I guess that means they think it's serious".

_Hypnos: Temporary HQ_

"What have you found?", Yamaki asked.

"This is a record from last night of something taking over the Hypnos main frame", Janyu explained, as his monitor played back a screen filling with zeros. "An obvious set up for stack whacking. Whatever it is, it's determined to spread further to more systems in cyberspace as well as meatspace".

"So digimon aren't the only ones who can materialize", Yamaki said.

"Maybe at first... but it's obvious something has learned their tricks", Janyu agreed.

"Could we have done this? Did it have anything to do with bringing back the Ark?"

"Now that, I don't know. It's possible, but then why was it - or something - trying to interfere? We know that its first materialization occurred hours after the Ark materialized. That's just it: we're speculating at this point".

_Cho-sensei's Home_

"I'm leaving...", Lopmon said.

"Yes, well done", Suzy congratulated.

"Next one: 'I'm home'", she requested.

"I'm...", he paused to recall the syntax, "...home"

"Yes, well done again"

"Moumentai". Terriermon sighed.

"Yeah, I am bored", Lopmon agreed, "I wish..."

"No! It's not 'ware'!", Suzy reprimanded. "'Boku', she corrected. No 'nari' either. Haven't you learned anything?"

Lopmon wondered what was the point? So he'd learned an older version of Japanese, and so what if these features were deprecated? He still got his meaning across, didn't he?

"Uhhhhh...", Lopmon sighed.

Henry and Cho were looking on.

"Sensei, you once said the Deva had their own kind of justice?", Henry asked.

"It's like the weather", he explained, as he looked out the window.

"Ehhhh?"

"Right now, it's cloudy; later it will be clear. Clear or cloudy, we define everything as good or bad. What is good and what is bad changes all the time".

"Like what's happening now...", Henry said, "...two worlds have gone beyond their bounds".

"Humans and those who live in that other world both believe their way is the right one. What is 'the right way'? If you find your way isn't right for you, you keep searching for a better way. That's the meaning of life for humans and for those born in the other world".

"I'm not so sure I agree", Henry replied. "Zhuqiaomon, the Sovereign who sent the Deva, was totally batshit crazy. If that wasn't bad enough, we have this new entity, and I can't see how this is a good thing. Misunderstandings are one thing, but you can't reason with insanity, and I don't think this thing is looking for a better way".

"What is insanity for you could be sanity for Zhuqiaomon. He has his path and you have yours, so who is to say who is right? As for this new entity, its acts are good from its perspective. You will have to follow your own paths".

_West Shinjuku_

Takato and Guilmon wandered streets strangely devoid of a human presence. He had never seen these streets so vacant, and that was a very strange sensation.

"Why is it so hot?", Guilmon asked.

It was unseasonably warm, especially for this time of year.

"I don't know", Takato replied, "the D-reaper?"

"The D-reaper's hot?"

"I don't know... that's the whole problem, this lack of information, and we know more about it than anyone who's actually trying to do something about it. That's why I couldn't go to Zushi... even if it was a promise".

Given the evacuation, the eerie silence, it wasn't hard to hear where the activity was occurring. Takato and Guilmon were hiding in a narrow alley a half block from a military cordon. They were going no farther, at least not that way.

"Takato?", Guilmon asked.

"Maybe you could evolve to Growlmon, break through...", he rethought that, "No. If you did that, they might figure for an enemy..."

"I'll evolve, if there's no other way..."

"I said no... Give me time to think" ...

"So Kazu went to West Shinjuku?", Henry's mother asked.

"That's what his father said: he and Impmon... Takato, too, I believe".

"I see... And?"

"I have to go too", Henry insisted.

"You have to go too?", she asked. "What will you do once you arrive?"

"W... Well...", Henry was at a loss for words.

"Tell me exactly what you intend to do?", she asked.

"First, I'll ask the others for ideas".

"That sounds pretty careless. Maybe that worked in the Digital World, but it won't work here. This is real life..."

"Mother, what makes you think life in the Digital World isn't just as real? It's different, but no less real just because you can't see it or touch it? We're the only ones who know what it is that appeared in Shinjuku... Only us: me, Takato, and Koichi and the rest of our friends. So... we _can't_ just sit here, pretending we don't know anything, Mom!"

"Leave it to the proper authorities!"

"When it comes to this we _are_ the 'proper authorities' (finger quotes) We're the _only_ authorities".

"I don't think I ever told you", she began. "As I got to know your father, the difference that surprised me the most..."

"What?"

"A friend's house back in Hong Kong burned to the ground. They lost everything. He said he needed time off work to go there to help. He was in a new position, and the economy was horrible at the time. Everyone told him not to do it, not to resign so soon as he just got started. He might not find another job so easily. But your father didn't listen. 'What good are friends if they don't help each other in times of need?', he asked. So he left for Hong Kong... You're a lot like him..."

"So!"

"I can't let you", she said, blinking back the tears. "What kind of mother would I be to let you put yourself in such danger? No mother wants that! There are none! If there were, it would be unnatural. Anyway, I won't allow it! I won't... I won't... I won't..."

"Sorry, mother", Henry said as he stepped towards the door to collect Terriermon.

"I won't... I'll never..."

_East Shinjuku: Ruki's House_

Seiko had a hand over her mouth, not believing what she was hearing, not wanting to believe her granddaughter could possibly have done the things she was confessing.

"Oh, Ruki", Rumiko said. "How could you get yourself into such a jam?"

"I... don't know what to say", Ruki tried to explain. "Icedevimon promised that if I followed him, no one could ever break my heart again. He had it all, no one would ever betray his trust, no one would ever break a promise to love him forever, he would never cry. It was everything I thought I wanted for the longest time.

Then that Deva, Catsuramon, told me everything I wanted to hear. He promised I'd have power and respect... that I could really be the Digimon Queen..."

"You should have come to us... said something", Seiko told her. "Didn't I once say you can't solve every problem on your own? You cut yourself off, and we have no idea what you're going through, and we can't help. Ruki: _no one_ can live like that!"

"I know. I didn't want to burden you with my problems... That's all I've been: a burden for everyone".

"That's not true", Seiko protested.

"What about my father?", she asked.

"Ruki, I didn't listen when I was told I was too young to marry", Rumiko explained. "I refused to listen, but they were right. Marrying your father was a mistake, but, Ruki, _you_ were never a mistake. I have always been glad to have you in my life, and nothing can ever change that. As for your father, may be it was too painful for him?"

"But what am I going to do?", Ruki asked.

"I don't know", Seiko said, "but from what you've told us, this transformation into data to enter the Digital World, that Catsuramon could have programmed you into doing anything. Didn't you tell us you somehow knew where to go to get to his palace? It's not your fault, not completely. You're being too hard on yourself, and that's been a problem with you even before these digimon started arriving. You want forgiveness? You can start by forgiving yourself".

"You mean, just forget..."

"I didn't say that", she explained. "I don't know Juri, and I can't say whether she will ever forgive you or not. You want to make it right, and somehow I'm sure you will find a way".

"You... think so?"

"Let us believe in you until you can believe in yourself again. You have a choice: you can get through this and come out the other side the better for it. Or you can let it destroy you. Your choice, Ruki".

_West Shinjuku: Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Here, thanks", Janyu said to Curly as he handed back a DVD.

"Why has Hypnos quit working?", Yamaki asked no one in particular. "Why did that thing appear and head straight for Hypnos? Is it Hypnos' fault?"

Janyu went to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't know what to say.

_Matsumoto:_

"Juri!", her step mom called. "Juri!"

"Hey, Masahiko", she asked her younger brother, who was in the back hallway, playing with a model car, "you haven't seen Juri, have you?"

"She left", he replied, still concentrating on his car.

"She went out?"

"No, that way", he pointed.

"There's nothing back there but the utility closet and laundry room", she said to herself.

She looked down the darkened hallway, feeling uneasy for some reason.

"Juri?", she called out, but there was no answer.

"Juri!", she called out, as she pulled a chain to light the overhead florescent light. The hallway was empty.

_West Shinjuku: Outside Chou Park_

Eight soldiers were moving out, the one bringing up the rear was recording everything on video. Suddenly, he was jerked off his feet as something grabbed the cable. The video camera disappeared around the corner of a building.

They moved forward, cautiously, ready for anything. As they rounded the corner, they were confronted by dozens of bird-looking things. More were appearing, each one trailing a cable. They had no idea as to what these could possibly be. They weren't aware these were just observation drones that had no offensive capability. However, they decided a retreat would be a good idea. The sky was filling with them as they left. ...

"Here it is", Takato announced.

"Here's what?", Guilmon asked.

"It's the flood diversion tunnel you've been through lots of times. I remembered it comes out at the Ome Highway, just above us. It'll lead us straight to Shinjuku Chou Park", he explained.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah..."

"You weren't thinking of skipping out on us were you?", they heard someone calling. Kazu was riding Deinondramon, who landed on the pedestrian overpass. He devolved to Impmon. Kazu lived farther out, in a part of Shinjuku that had avoided evacuation. They figured Takato was here, and spotting him from the air was not difficult as there was so little activity.

"Y...you came too?", he asked.

"Of course", Kazu called back. "You weren't thinking of not inviting us to your party, were you?"

"No", Takato denied. "You weren't thinking of not inviting us?", he challenged.

"Well... maybe", Kazu replied.

"That's awful".

"Hey!", and a ringing of a bicycle bell.

"Glad you could make it too", they called to Henry and Terriermon.

After they'd climbed down into the flood diversion channel, they gathered by the entrance.

"How about Koichi?", Takato asked.

"I think we can get by without them", Kazu said.

"But, why?", asked Impmon.

"Yeah?", Henry asked.

"Those two... they had no business bringing her back! I can understand why, after all, if Juri asked you not to, but you did your part. They should have left her to rot in that desert".

"Isn't that a little harsh?", Takato asked. "It's not like you. Impmon?"

"I... have mixed feelings about this too. Even if Ruki was once Renamon's partner, I can understand the bond between partners doesn't break completely, but after everything she did... I... just don't know".

"You almost didn't make it back", Guilmon added. "If they had stayed with the Ark, then you wouldn't've nearly gotten yourself stranded. If Impmon hadn't figured out how to stop it, you wouldn't be here. They almost cost me my partner. Don't forget that".

"So you're just gonna cut them out completely?", Terriermon asked. "We may need the help if we're to overcome this enemy. You saw what it did in the Digital World? I think we're gonna need all the help we can get".

"Maybe, Terriermon", Kazu explained, "but it's gonna take us time to reconcile what they did with how we feel about it. I liked Leomon and Juri as much as any of you".

"Terriermon's right", Henry explained, "but no sense arguing about it now".

It was getting late as they entered the side tunnel. Even there was no work being done, they were happy to see the lights hadn't been turned off in the main tunnel. That's what they'd expected. Maybe no one thought to do so before the evacuations?

"What are you going to do? That's what she asked me. I didn't know what to tell her", Henry said.

"This is a tough opponent, even for the Holy Beasts", Impmon replied.

"It'll all work out some how, won't it?", Terriermon answered with his usual optimism.

"We'll just have to see it does", Guilmon agreed.

"Eh", Impmon whispered, barely audible.

They walked on in silence, as there wasn't anything more to be said until they better knew with what they were dealing. They made their way to the main entrance by the park. The roll away door was closed and locked, but there was a side entrance for the construction crew. It could be opened from the inside.

"What's going on?", Guilmon asked.

It was sundown, and they could easily see the tracers from the shells being fired at something in the sky. It looked to be by the Hypnos building, thought they really couldn't tell.

"What's happening?", Takato asked.

"They're firing at something", Henry said, "but what?"

"D-reaper?", Kazu speculated.

By the flashes of explosions, they could make out a small figure weaving and dodging between the flairs of light.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

That night, Ruki slept peacefully for the first time since the return to the Material World. Then there came the dream...


	29. The Once and Future Tamer

**26) The Once and Future Tamer**

Takato, Henry, Kazu and their partners ran to get a better view. They stood before the margins of the woods, looking over the trees. By the light of tracer fire, they could see the small critter, still dodging and weaving.

Suddenly, to their surprise, a pair of golden eyes appeared from behind the trees.

"Hell's that!", Takato called out. Before he could get an answer, more and more of these eyes began appearing. They resolved themselves into a group of bird-like critters. Then they could see that these "eyes" were just decorations on their wings. It was also obvious why this was the first feature they saw: their bulbous bodies were a dark gray that blended in well with the surrounding darkness. At the base of their heads was a thin, green disc, with a larger disc of the same colour at the base of their tails from which trailed a cable.

The features were inexpressive, angular and artificial in appearance. The eyes blank, black discs. Three flew forward, one eying Henry as it cocked its head in the same manner as a curious bird.

"Digimon?", Henry asked

"No, Henry", Terriermon informed him.

"Whatever they are, they definitely aren't digimon", Guilmon agreed.

"Really, Guilmon?", Takato asked.

"These are probably D-reaper", Impmon speculated.

The disc around their necks began spinning with a soft whirring sound.

"What's with them? They're weird", Kazu said.

"What are they doing?", Henry asked.

Guilmon reached out towards the closest one.

"Guilmon!", Takato reprimanded as he pulled the paw back. "If it is D-reaper, you could have all your data deleted!"

"What're you talking about? Here, I'm every bit flesh and blood as you are", Guilmon complained.

"You weren't with us", Takato explained, "but when we met Mr. Mizuno in his underwater library, he explained that DNA was another medium for storing data. How do you know that thing can't delete that kind of data just as easily as it deleted digital data in the Digital World? You really want to take that chance?"

"Oh", Guilmon said, "I wasn't thinking of it that way".

The whirring sound increased in volume as more and more were arriving.

"For now, I think we should go", Takato said.

"Get the hell out of here", Henry agreed, as they began running down the street.

"It doesn't look like they're coming after us", Impmon announced as he looked back.

"Best to find some place to hide", Henry suggested.

"I know just the place", Takato announced as he led the way to their school. They found a side door that had been left unlocked. The building was vacant, no night watch was on patrol, so they had free reign of the whole building.

Not the most comfortable accommodations. Henry shoved three desks together to make a bed. Kazu slept on top of a bookcase, Guilmon curled up on the floor, as Impmon claimed the window sill. Takato slept in one of the chairs, feet propped on a desktop. He was up as the morning sunlight reached the windows.

"C'mon, Guilmon", he prodded the crimson dino awake.

"Mornin' already?"

"Good morning", Kazu said, as he got up. They all exchanged "Good morning's".

Impmon got off the window sill as Takato pulled back the drapes.

"So far, it doesn't look like it's doing much of anything", he said as he looked at the red mass. It looked to have climbed up to the bases of the twin towers of the Hypnos building, about a third of the way up.

"Seems awfully... quiet", Henry agreed.

There was no sound of traffic, no sounds of explosions, so the SDF wasn't firing at it. Nor was there any sign of the small figure they'd seen the night before. Did the SDF get it? They wondered.

"How about we get a bite?", Guilmon asked.

"You just got...", Takato was interrupted by the growling of his stomach.

"Sounds like you're hungry too", Guilmon pointed out.

"Yeah...", Takato agreed.

"Where?", Henry asked.

"Raid the vending machines?", Kazu suggested.

"I have a better idea", Takato said, as he led the way.

"You think we can?", Kazu asked.

"Maybe we could make better use of our time?", Henry added.

"I don't think it's gonna make any difference", Impmon replied. "Besides, it sounds like fun. We could all do with a pleasant diversion".

"C'mon in", Takato invited as he unlocked the side door of the bakery.

"Think we can actually do it?", Terriermon asked.

"I've seen my dad make bread lots of times", Takato explained.

"Let's see: flour, yeast, sugar", he checked out a pantry. "Eggs, butter", as he checked the refrigerator. We have everything!", he announced.

"Water's OK", Takato said as he turned on a faucet. "Gas is OK", as he lit a burner. "We're good to go: fresh baked bread for breakfast".

"So how do we start?", Henry asked.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Ruki's still not up?", Rumiko asked.

"Let her sleep", Seiko told her, "first good night's sleep she's had in awhile".

"I was going out shopping, but I guess I don't really need her for that. Be back soon. Let me know if there are any calls".

"I don't think they'll be calling for a photo shoot", Seiko told her daughter.

"I don't either, but just in case, yannow".

The morning sunlight seemed to be coming through the window at an unusually high angle by the time Ruki woke up.

"What a weird...", she began to say as she rubbed her eyes.

"'Bout damn time you woke up", an unfamiliar voice caused her to sit up like a shot.

"Huh?! You... it wasn't..."

"No, Ruki, it wasn't a dream. I'm very much real".

"Pt... Pteromon?"

"I will be your partner, if you'll have me", the female, anthro-otter digimon explained.

She was sitting at the desk chair, right knee crossed over the left, arms folded. She slowly stood up on digitigrade feet. The slick fur brownish-gray with blue markings streaking her sides and paws. Long tail trailing behind, thick at the base and narrowing gradually to a pointed tip. The front white.

"Azulongmon explained: if you are to right the wrongs you committed as a digimon, it will have to be as a digimon".

"Yes, of course...", Ruki started. "I... I... really don't deserve this", she apologized. "I promise I will do my best to be a worthy partner".

With that, the white light enveloped her useless digivice that she had discarded on the desktop. This time, it turned white with aqua border and lanyard. As she picked it up, it switched itself on, and into "Ident" mode:

_Pteromon_

_Champion, Vaccine_

_Anthro animal digimon_

_Attacks are Hydro Shock and Grand Slam_

"I'm sure you will. You see, you have learned something important: those who seek great power are the least trustworthy. Those who do not seek power are the most likely not to abuse it. You have paid a high price to learn this. That is why Azulongmon and the Ancient Ones believed you worthy of another chance".

"You - all of you - will have my everlasting gratitude for that".

"Ruki! I'm back!", Rumiko called out. "You up yet?"

"Coming!", she called back. "I'll be right back", she explained.

"I'll be waiting".

"Yes?", she asked as she entered the main living room, still wearing her PJs

"I bought you something", as she handed Ruki a package.

"What?", as she looked inside. She pulled out one of the T-shirts. The color scheme was identical to the ones she habitually wore: white, teal and yellow trim. All the same except that the dark blue heart emblazoned on the white background was complete.

"Do you like it?", Seiko asked.

"Oh, yes!", she agreed. "Thank you". She returned to her bedroom to change.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Riley was waiting outside the Hypnos van. She didn't have anything to do, now that Hypnos was installing itself into a new office tower. Inside, Janyu was carrying a large box, as the various technicians were running cables, and doing the equipment install. They'd been at it all night.

"It's so calm...", Yamaki announced as Janyu approached. "Why isn't it making any aggressive moves?", he asked.

"Do you think we're safe here?", Daisy asked, as it looked to her as they hadn't moved far enough out of range.

"I don't know", Janyu replied. "It looks like it's avoiding the park for some unknown reason".

"Anyway", Yamaki announced, "we lack information. I'm going to the City Defense HQ for a situation report. I'll leave the rest of the installation to you".

"OK"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Won't this place be in danger soon?", Tally asked. She and Riley waited by the van while Yamaki went to see the commander.

"I guess so", Riley agreed.

"We suffered many losses from last night's battle", the City Defense commander was explaining. "We're not retreating that easily".

"But...", Yamaki was interrupted.

"The missile is ready for launch!", one of the soldiers announced.

"Alright! Launch it!", the commander announced.

"Launch!", the soldier relayed the command.

"You intend to explode a missile right here in the city?!", Yamaki called out.

"This missile doesn't have an explosive warhead", the commander explained.

"Ehhhh?", Yamaki asked.

"It's carrying a video surveillance camera. We should be getting a view of what's happening inside that mass on the monitor".

The images began to arrive.

"That's the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building!". Yamaki gasped in horror. This mass had uprooted it from its foundation, as well as every building surrounding it. All these buildings were now supported on columns of that red mass.

"What's going on in there?", he asked. He would get no further answers that way, as the camera lens was covered in red mass, and the images faded to black.

"It would seem it doesn't want us to find out", the commander commented.

Yamaki had another expert to consult, if he could find him.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Mom, Gran", Ruki said as she exited the bedroom wearing her usual jeans and the new T-shirt, "I'd like for you to meet my new partner, Pteromon", she waved.

The anthro-otter stepped into view.

"You have another digimon?", Rumiko asked. This was the first time she'd actually seen one, up close and personal.

"Yes, it would seem I've been given a second chance", she explained.

"See? Didn't I say you'd find a way?", Seiko said.

"Yeah", Ruki agreed.

"I remember playing with digimon when I was your age", Rumiko explained.

"But you didn't believe in digimon when you got older?", Seiko added.

"I guess I didn't", she agreed. "Maybe..."

"If you had kept up the interest, you'd be the one with the partner? Or you both would?"

"Yeah", Ruki and Rumiko agreed.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"I'm full", Takato announced.

"Me too", Henry agreed. "I didn't know bread could taste so good straight out of the oven".

"I'm beginning to see where Guilmon got the taste for it", Impmon agreed. Guilmon was still devouring a bun. Suddenly, his ears went up.

"Impmon?", Kazu asked.

"A car", he announced as the sound became audible to the humans.

"Who?", Henry asked as he heard a car door open.

"I thought everyone would be gone by now", Takato said, as the door bell began to ring. He went to see who it was. They'd come to the side door residential entrance, not the front door. He peered out.

"Mr. Yamaki!", Takato was surprised to see him here. "Oh, uhhhh... thanks for doing business with us", he said to Riley. "You come here quite often".

"Yes", she agreed, "hello there".

"I was hoping I would find you here", he explained. "You know each other?"

"Oh yeah, I come by almost every morning to pick up a croissant and coffee", she explained. "Would be nicer to meet under better circumstances".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Yes!", Janyu announced, "it's done!"

"Shall I put on some coffee?", Daisy asked. She gasped in shock.

"What's wrong?", Janyu asked.

Daisy said nothing, just pointing to the landing above the main floor.

"Shibumi", Janyu called out.

"You're alive!", Daisy greeted.

"I see you somehow managed to not scramble your eggs", Janyu said. "That was a very foolish thing you did".

"I was having a nice long nap", Shibumi explained. "I figured it was a good time to wake up, come to tell you what you're dealing with", he said. "I wasn't expecting to get myself lost in the Digital World that long".

"You know what it is?", Janyu asked.

"It's... D-reaper", he replied.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"D-reaper?!", Yamaki exclaimed.

"Yes", Henry explained, "it's the same thing we saw while we were in the Digital World".

"So it isn't just in the Digital World after all?", he asked.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"D-reaper was a program that cleared an area of memory when the data exceeded a set size", Shibumi explained. "Remember? Kinda nostalgic, don't you think?" He chuckled.

"Nostalgic? Stop fooling around", Daisy reprimanded. "The D-reaper preceded our research on Digimon... How can that be?"

"The digimon grew in number and evolved too fast", Janyu speculated. "So the D-reaper acted on its programming and began to eliminate them".

"Yes", Shibumi agreed. "As for the Material World, I'm certain that, for the D-reaper, there are lots of things that need elimination".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Please, whatever it is, tell me everything you know", Yamaki requested.

"We know it's determined to destroy everything it can", Kazu explained. "It would just touch something, and, poof: it was gone just like that", he said with a snap of his fingers.

"Azulongmon told us it reacted negatively to the digimons' evolution, that it was destroying the Digital World, and that he tried to appease it by stopping all digivolution. The Sovereign seemed to believe that it wasn't acting on any sort of conscious level... I'm not so sure", Henry added. "It seemed to be acting with volition when it interfered with our transit out of the Digital World... could that mean it didn't want us returning to tell what we know?"

They were interrupted by the sound of distant gunfire. They ran from the bakery to stand in the middle of the street to see what was going on.

"They started fighting again", Takato declared the obvious.

"I told them that conventional arms were useless against it", Yamaki explained. "Nothing good will come of this, and all that this will accomplish is to get more good men killed uselessly". ...

The commander ordered: "Fire at will! we _will_ destroy it this time!", he said of the strange little critter they'd been firing at all night.

Three helicopter gunships and a self propelled artillery piece opened up. It looked like way too much firepower, as air to surface missiles blossomed from rocket launchers, and shells filled the air with flashes of light and concussions.

After the salvos, it was still there, untouched.

"Bullshit!", the commander called out, "_every_ shot should've scored a hit!"

He watched, horrified, as the unknown critter suddenly attacked the helos, taking all three of them down within seconds.

"It... destroyed them all?", he asked, not believing what his own eyes showed him: three plumes of black smoke rising from the Chaos Mass where they'd crashed.

The black Hypnos van screeched to a halt at the curb. Everyone piled out.

"It's that thing we saw last night", Takato announced.

"And it looks like it's trailing a cable", Henry added. This was a feature he hadn't noticed in the darkness. "No doubt about it: that's the D-reaper".

"Digimon are fighting for their lives in the Digital World", Takato explained, "and it's up to us to do our part to help save our city".

He had out his digivice, and reflexively reached for a card. That was no longer necessary, he realized.

_Guilmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... MEGALOGROWLMON!**

_Impmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

_Terriermon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

For the first time, they demonstrated that they could evolve at will once again.

"We're counting on you guys!", Takato called out encouragement

"So this is the digimon's evolution?", Yamaki asked himself, as he had never actually seen it before.

They watched it fire four spherical projectiles at their digimon.

"Megalogrowlmon!", Takato called out.

He slashed at it with his blades, shattering the one meant for him as it burst into Chaos Mass.

"Shoot it down!", Henry called out.

"Rapid Fire!", his partner struck with his twin RPGs. Same result: the projectiles were destroyed.

"Raptor Slash!", Deinondramon got the last one.

"Yes! Deinondramon!", Kazu celebrated.

The commander was watching through binoculars: "Do we have no other choice but to rely on those children and their digimon?", he asked no one in particular.

"No", Yamaki told him. "That's not true, and we _will_ find the means to back them up. We aren't leaving them alone and unsupported, of that I can assure you".

"Atomic Blaster!", Megalogrowlmon fired.

"Homing Missile!", Rapidmon joined him.

"Electromagnetic Disruptor!", Deinondramon followed suit.

"_Noway!_", Kazu was the first to say it: the D-reaper entity absorbed these attacks.

Takato was doubled over, grabbing his midsection. The D-reaper entity had just fired back at Megalogrowlmon with a replica of his own Atomic Blaster attack. Rapidmon and Deinondramon got the same treatment, though Henry and Kazu didn't feel it since they didn't have the same kind of psychic connection Takato did.

"Takato!", Henry called out. "That damn thing learned our attacks!"

This was something they were not expecting. The attacks should have destroyed it.

"It's more formidable than we thought?", Kazu asked.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

(_...in West Shinjuku a fierce battle between monsters called "digimon" and an unknown entity is taking place..._)

Ruki joined Seiko and Rumiko, as they were watching the battle live on cable.

"My friends!", Ruki called out, "They're in trouble... I gotta help them!"

"What..."

She didn't wait, as she and Pteromon headed for the backdoor. They stood in the backyard.

"This is gonna be a bit... weird", Ruki explained as she took out her digivice.

"Matrix Evolution, Biomerge Activate!"

_Pteromon Evolve! ..._

**... HOUOUMON!**

Her mother and grandmother could only watch speechless as the large bird digimon they'd become stood before them. Did she even know who she was?

"Don't worry, Gran, I'll be back in plenty of time to help get dinner ready"

That answered that question. Hououmon took off, whipping their dresses around them with the out wash of her four golden wings. She could see the battle from a distance as she gained altitude. She banked sharply to the west. ...

"What is this thing?", Rapidmon asked.

"I've never dealt with anything like it", Deinondramon said. "It's like I'm fighting myself".

"Takato!", Megalogrowlmon called out.

"We have to evolve to beat it!", he called out as he thrust forward his digivice, "Megalogrowlmon!" Nothing happened.

"Why?", he asked.

"We could do it in the Digital World because we were also data there", Henry explained.

"Then we can't get to Mega?!", Takato asked. "What are we supposed to do now!", he called out in frustration.

Just then, a large shadow passed over. "Huh?", Takato asked.

"Who're you?", Deinondramon asked.

"A friend", Hououmon said. There was no more time for talk, as the D-reaper entity was starting its attack run. It swung sharp sickles at the ends of long cords, turning it into a buzz saw.

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon attacked.

"It stopped moving!", Rapidmon called out. The Crimson Flare attack had severed the cable.

"Before it can recover!", Deinondramon called out.

"Electromagnetic Disruptor!"

"Golden Triangle!"

"Atomic Blaster!"

Rapidmon and Megalogrowlmon combined attacks that struck almost simultaneously. The small figure that had given them so much trouble burst into splatters of Chaos Mass.

"Yes! They did it!", Takato rejoiced.

They stood at the main entrance to the park.

"We couldn't've done it without you", Megalogrowlmon said. "Thank you for that".

"How do you know us?", Deinondramon asked.

"Terriermon knows who I am, don't you? Just look beneath the surface".

Rapidmon concentrated for a few seconds: "I see", he said. "This is Ruki's digimon form. I don't know how you pulled this off..."

"You look cool, Ruki", Megalogrowlmon said.

"Hey now", she objected, "I'm not Ruki now. I'm Hououmon!"

"Whatever you say", Deinondramon said, "ROO KEY!"

"I'm Hououmon"

"Roo key"

"Hououmon"

"Roo key"

Hououmon"

"Roo key..."

Takato thought he saw something.

"Juri?"


	30. The Gift

**27) The Gift**

Ruki was peeling potatoes, and Pteromon was slicing them into quarters in preparation for making mashed potatoes.

"How did you pull that off?", Seiko asked. "That... transformation, I guess?"

"It began with a strange dream, or at least I thought it was. I don't think I was actually transported to the Digital World... that would have been different. Something contacted me, with a message from Azulongmon, telling me what the arrangement was. It involved digitizing me, the same as entering the Digital World itself, and storing that data in the digivice's memory. That's what allows what's called 'bio-merging' to take place here in the Material World.

That was like reliving your whole life within minutes. Strange, indeed. What I don't understand is how Azulongmon knew, or why he'd even care".

"That's easy", Pteromon explained. "The Ancient Ones knew that you wanted to make amends. They track all Tamers. They informed Azulongmon somehow, and he made it possible since we need all the help we can get, given the current situation. As for myself, I always wanted to come to the Material World. It was natural that I would be given this chance".

"I see... I'm glad you came". ...

(_Special News Report: The Abnormal Space in West Shinjuku. We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a special report on the strange events taking place in West Shinjuku. The unknown space continues occupying the space in and around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. Reporter Toki Anamu is live at the scene..._)

"I am at the site of the JR Shinjuku station on the east side. As you can see, the abnormal space is expanding. It has pushed back half of the Shinjuku station based forces, and the railroad is no longer operational. Even though it's February, the temperature is 300 C, around the margins of the space, and it is getting hotter.

Prof. Uchiharado Tetsou: "There is little doubt but that the abnormal space arrived through the network surveillance system: Hypnos. These network surveillance systems have been in operation here, in Europe, and America since the days of the Cold War".

"So you're telling us that it was Hypnos that was responsible for this, and the appearance of the giant lifeforms last summer?"

"The virtual lifeforms known as digimon appeared in the Material World in physical form".

"So, it is related to the digimon after all?"

"Seems like an obvious conclusion"

"Some physical entities have been appearing from the unusual space, are they also digimon?"

Prof. Rob "Dolphin" McCoy: "They are entirely different from digimon. I was part of the original team which developed and researched digimon. Compared to our original designs, the digimon have accomplished a rapid evolution, and built their own world independent of the network. However, in accordance with the original intent to have them communicate with humans, the digimon are remarkably care-free. I can see no reason why they would desire to attack the Material World.

Completely unrelated to digimon, this space is the result of an obsolete program dedicated to deletion: the D-reaper. Somehow, it has evolved in an abnormal manner".

Assistant Prof. Aishuwarya "Curly" Rai: "As you can see from this video capture, the entity is connected to the space by some sort of cable or structure. By design, the D-reaper was simply a program that would set a memory field to null, or filling it with zeros: nothing more. However, in the process of deleting digimon, it somehow acquired the digimons' ability to evolve. It has also learned how to spawn these entities or agents that give it mobility here in the Material World..."

_Another morning at the school._

"Takato?", Henry asked.

"Uhhhh... It's almost like summer all over again".

"Do you think we'll be able to do anything about this?", he asked. The destruction of the unknown critter wasn't the victory they were hoping for. The Chaos Mass was still there, still spreading.

"What's wrong?", Henry was getting the idea that there was something else.

"Yesterday...", Takato began, "I could have sworn I saw Juri. I called her step-mom, and she told me Juri had disappeared. They're still in Matsumoto, so how? Even if she somehow took an airline flight, there wouldn't be enough time for her to get here by the time I saw her..."

"I thought I heard you leave last night, so that's what you were doing?", Kazu entered the room. "And?"

"It's like I was saying to Henry: she disappeared yesterday evening, and they have no idea where she went. Yet I swear I saw her here, just about the same time she disappeared. How could that be?"

"Seeing things?", Kazu theorized. "You've been worried about Juri ever since we got back... Even before that. Could it be weighing on your mind? Wishful thinking? She has been acting in a most peculiar manner even before we returned".

"Well, she's been through a lot", Henry explained. "Losing Leomon like that, so suddenly... After losing her mother at such a young age..."

"I'm concerned that's not the whole story", Takato explained. "What if something _else_ happened to her? What if she was hit by one of those bits of Chaos Mass in the Digital World? What if it somehow deleted a part of her?"

"I don't know what to tell you", Henry replied. "How could she be in two places at once?"

"That's the thing: I know what I saw. What I don't understand is, if it really was Juri, why didn't she say something? Why did she run off like that?"

"Can we worry about it after breakfast?", Guilmon requested.

"I don't think we're gonna solve it here", Impmon agreed.

"Yeah, I guess not", Takato agreed.

They left for the bakery. If something was going on, they wouldn't solve it at the school.

"Huh?", Takato asked. There was a paper flapping in the breeze that had been attached to the door. "Who left this?", he asked.

"Come to Ruki's house", he read it out loud.

"Huh?", Kazu asked. "Of all the places... that little bitch, what's she up to?"

"That's what it says", Takato reiterated. "Nothing more".

"That's odd indeed", Henry agreed. They set out, as it would be a longish walk.

"Hold on a sec", Kazu suddenly called out. "What if it's a trap?", he asked.

"What are you talking about?", Henry asked. "Who would be setting a trap anyway?"

"D-reaper agents?", he speculated. "given her track record, I wouldn't put that past her".

"I highly doubt _that_", Henry disagreed. "We've seen no evidence they can talk, let alone write notes and paste them on doors. How would they even know? Would Ruki's mother and grandmother allow that? I don't think so".

"I... still don't like it", he objected. "I'd prefer to have nothing more to do with her".

"Let's see what she wants", Impmon announced.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon called out. "Even if it is an ambush, we'll take care of it".

Something caught Takato's eye: "Juri?", he called out. There she was, standing beside the entrance to an alley way.

"Just what is this chaotic world?", Juri asked herself. "Everybody lives by their own selfish interests. Is there any value in that?"

"Juri!", he called out again, louder. He began to run across the street, the others following. There was no one in sight.

"Takato!", Guilmon called out.

"What's wrong?", he asked as they stood by the alley.

"I saw her!", Takato insisted, "here! Right here!"

"Anyone else see anything?", Kazu asked.

"No", Henry replied. "You?"

"I didn't see either, but I can't say I was looking", Kazu replied.

"Impmon?", he asked.

"Nothing", he replied.

"I felt the presence of something", Terriermon added. Takato felt relief at hearing that. Maybe he wasn't going crazy after all?

"You mean someone?", Takato asked.

"No, not someone", Terriermon explained, "some... _thing_. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. Wasn't digimon either. I don't know what, but something was here".

"She was... here...", Takato insisted.

"I don't doubt you", Terriermon replied, "but it definitely wasn't Juri or anything human. I don't know what it was, but I'm certain of what it wasn't. I don't think you're going crazy".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Good work", one Hypnos tech was calling to another as their shift ended.

"See you tomorrow", the other agreed.

Yamaki was standing on a balcony overlooking the main floor. Riley brought him a cup of coffee.

"Are you going to take all the responsibility on yourself?", she asked. "Some day, the network will cease being a totally free world", she reminded. "Someone would try to control it via a surveillance system: it's inevitable. You were one of the first, that's all".

"Being the first fool: not my intention, nor a legacy I ever wanted", Yamaki replied, as he nearly choked on his coffee.

"I didn't mean it that way!", she stammered.

"I don't think I can do everything myself, not any more. Besides, the network shouldn't be under anyone's control".

"Hey!", Janyu interrupted. "We finally found the original code for the D-reaper", he explained the interruption.

"Where'd you get that?", Yamaki asked.

"From an old college buddy who's now living in Germany. He saved it all this time. Now we have something we can analyze. There's still a lot we can do".

"Hey, Tao", Shibumi called out, "hurry it up already!"

"Yeah, I'll put it on the server directly", Janyu called back.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Huh?!"

"Oh?!"

Takato and Kazu called out upon arriving at Ruki's.

"We never got a chance to give you a proper homecoming", Takato's father explained. "So we're making up for it now".

Everyone, all their parents were there, except for Janyu. Kenta and Marineangemon, however, couldn't make it. They had a fancy spread waiting in the main dining room.

"Go on and help yourselves to as much as you'd like", Ruki's grandmother was saying. "We made it all for you".

"Is this...". Guilmon began as he was escorted to his place.

"Guilmon bread", Takehiro explained, "just like I promised".

"Mom, dad...", Takato said.

"This is great! This is great!", Terriermon was saying as he ran around the table until Henry caught him and made him sit.

"C'mon and give thanks and dig in", Ruki's mother encouraged.

"Thanks for the food", everyone said.

"This manju is excellent!", Terriermon declared.

"Ah... we...", Takato began.

"We also brought you changes of clothing, and you can bathe and freshen up", Yoshi told them.

"I figured you'd like it", Henry's mother said.

"How'd you know?", Terriermon was asking

"Not hard to figure", she explained. "Henry was always taking lots of extras to his room".

"Oh"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Calumon was standing in a deserted playground. "Where is everyone?", he asked himself. As he just arrived in Shinjuku, having flown the whole way from Matsumoto, he had heard nothing of the evacuations.

"Why are you looking so depressed?", startling him.

"Why'd you sneak up on me like that?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to", Renamon apologized.

"I was with Juri, and she disappeared", he explained.

"Juri... did what?", she asked.

"It's strange. She was there one minute, and then she was gone from a blind hallway. There was just the one way in, and her brother didn't see her come out... Gone... just like that".

"That is odd", she agreed, as she walked off.

"Where're you goin'?"

"I don't know, but we have to do something. Sounds like she's in some sort of trouble".

"Maybe I can help?", Calumon volunteered.

Renamon and Calumon were walking along the street opposite the Hypnos building when he suddenly stopped.

"I want to go there, culu?!", he called out, pointing.

"What? That looks pretty dangerous and reckless", she objected.

"I have to, culu?!", he insisted. She had no choice nut to follow.

As they progressed deeper into the area, it was becoming obvious this was "ground zero" for the D-reaper's arrival into the Material World. Abandoned cars were smashed and overturned. Guard rails ripped from the ground and twisted. Utility poles down. From the cracked pavement, Chaos Mass bubbled up, just as it had done in the Digital World.

"Are you sure...", she never got to complete that thought. "Run!", she ordered. A new form of agent had appeared, this one with offensive capability, as it unleashed some sort of energy attack. It struck where they'd been standing. Another energy burst sent them flying.

"Now you gone and dunnit!", she called back to the attack drones.

_Matrix Evolution: Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... TAOMON!**

"Rajas!", she fired back with the digitizoid blades, slicing through the drones, dissolving them back into Chaos Mass.

"Juri's here, culu?!", Calumon called out as he took off for the twin towers, Taomon following.

"What?", she asked. Calumon was kicking at something. "You're sure about that?"

"Open, culu?! Open, culu?!"

Taomon ran into an impenetrable force field that she could not see.

"Stand back", she ordered.

"Fox Cards!". The red "cards" struck, and the force field cracked, then disintegrated, revealing a reddish sphere that was stuck between the towers.

"I'm going to try to crack it", she explained. "If you are sure you can get through, then do so, but _only_ if you are certain. Understand?"

"Understand, culu?"

"Bonhitsusen!"

The sphere cracked, and Calumon headed for the opening. He almost made it.

"Here", Taomon boosted him through the opening, which healed itself with astonishing speed.

She saw movement inside, and dropped away just as these red tendrils extended from the sphere. A glance back showed that Taomon was the intended target. They barely missed her as she fell free. Once she saw that she was clear, she swooped up and away.

Inside, Calumon saw Juri. She was sitting, unmoving, inside a clear inner sphere that was attached to the outer sphere by sparks that looked like static electricity. He flew to the inner sphere.

"Juri, let me in, culu? I want to play, culu?"

Juri made no motion to indicate whether she heard him or not.

"Juri, I want to be with you, culu?"

Still nothing.

He sat on top of the sphere: "Culululu?", he asked himself. Suddenly, the sphere opened, and he dropped inside.

"Juri, culu?", he asked. Juri was sitting there, unmoving, knees pulled up, arms wrapped around her legs. "Are you sleeping, culu?"

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Ummmm...", Shibumi was saying. "It is a kind of primitive AI", he was explaining of the original D-reaper program. "This would explain the eventual evolution of the program, as it had the seed planted already".

"The D-reaper you saw in the Digital World", Janyu was looking over the data, "is it the same?"

"Essentially, yes", Shibumi explained. "This is how it started out, but then, somehow, it managed to evolve beyond its original design, just as the digimon did. The main difference is that the Chaos Mass in the Digital World instantly deleted everything as soon as it touched it. Here, it doesn't seem to be doing that. The buildings inside the Chaos Mass are still there. Perhaps it hasn't yet learned how to delete material objects in the same manner as virtual objects? I wouldn't take too much encouragement from that: it's only a question of time until it figures this out".

"Putting up a satellite image of the area", Babel announced. "It seems to be avoiding the parks and the green belts for some reason", he explained.

Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen are clear. It hasn't spread past Shinjuku Chou Park either".

"It looks to be avoiding any place filled with physical life", Shibumi observed. "That's interesting: it would appear it doesn't understand the coding of DNA either".

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"This doesn't mean that the Network Administration Bureau has ever monitored the private communications of the public at large", a spokesman for Hypnos was telling at a live press conference

"Are you saying it's a misunderstanding that Hypnos can not only access private information, but can publicize and even alter it?", a reporter asked.

"Well, that..."

"What about the incident in Shinjuku?", another interrupted.

("_We apologize to interrupt, but there seems to be some new activity in West Shinjuku")_

_"After running a cable from Yotsuya, we can finally resume broadcasting", Toki Anamu was explaining. "As you can see, some new entities are appearing. These aren't like anything we've seen so far, and we have no idea as to what these new entities are planning..."_

_Ruki's House_

"Ahhhhh, that was good", Guilmon complimented, "the Guilmon Bread was everything I was hoping for... I ate too much".

Terriermon swallowed the last of the manju: "I think I did too".

"Guys... everyone...", Ruki started to say, "I wanted you to come to apologize for my behaviour in the Digital World. 'I'm sorry' seems so inadequate", she explained. "But I'm deeply, sincerely sorry".

"Everyone deserves another chance", Impmon spoke up. "It could'a been me... Given how I was after I left Ai and Mako. I mean if Renamon hadn't made the effort, and I almost didn't listen to what she had to say".

"You did come to help us", Takato agreed. "I can't say I don't have mixed feelings about this, but I'm willing... You Guilmon?"

"If it's OK with Takato".

"I wanted for us to leave you behind", Kazu explained, "I didn't think you'd change, or even want to. Maybe I was wrong".

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Dammit, what now?!", Yamaki also noticed. These new agents looked very different from the bird-like agents seen so far. These new agents, unlike the "birds", had an offensive capability. They were firing energy bursts at something...

He was interrupted by the chirping coming from his lap top. He clicked on an icon representing his hand-held.

"What's...", he paused as he read the incoming message. "This is... from the Ark? I thought we lost it", he thought to himself.

_Ruki's House_

They were interrupted by the chirping of their digivices. All of them were going off at the same time, and that meant some sort of incursion. Their parents knew as well.

"We have to go!", Takato called out.

"Us too...", Henry started.

They were surprised and delayed, as all their parents rose as one.

"We...", Takato began apologetically.

"We discussed this matter among ourselves", Takehiro announced. "No one should just sit around and let their children do dangerous things like this. That's the height of neglectful parenting..."

"Uhhhh...", Takato was trying to think of something to say, and quickly.

"However, parents don't own their children, and should not interfere with what they feel they need to do". He took Takato's hands in his own.

His mother gave him a big hug: "Not too many parents find themselves in a situation like this", she explained. "We did our best to raise you right, to be responsible. We don't have to like it, but there really is no one else - the authorities can't handle it. I see that now".

"And you have to live up to your responsibilities to do the right thing. We'd expect nothing less from you... All of you".

"So we decided to quit being upset, just worrying and waiting for you to return", Henry's mother explained. "We will do for you whatever we can".

"Mom...", he said.

"It's alright, mom?", Ruki asked.

"We're not saying it's alright. It's... far from alright", as she hugged Ruki. "I can't bring myself to say 'good luck'", she apologized.

"I'm sorry mom", she said as she looked to Seiko.

"You understand, Ruki?", Seiko said.

"I don't know how much longer we can stay here", Seiko announced, "but we will do whatever we can to help you. So, at the very least, take care of yourselves".

"Yes", the Tamers agreed. With that, they and their partners left to see what was alerting their digivices. ...

Koichi received the same alert, and set out. He had a good idea as to where the trouble was, having followed the whole drama on the news.

"I'll catch up with Renamon", he explained as he was leaving.

"Don't take any unnecessary chances", Doyle reminded. ...

They made their way to the pedestrian overpasses linking several office complexes.

"There!", Henry called out.

"Time to get serious", Galgomon announced.

These new attack drones they'd never seen before were gathering on an intersecting overpass, aiming at something...

"Gatling Arm!", Galgomon fired at them, taking out several.

"Exhaust Flame!", Growlmon incinerated another dozen or so.

"Grand Slam!", Pteromon produced a softball-sized metal sphere and threw it with unexpected force. It tore through the ranks of even more of these drones.

"There's someone there!", Kyuubimon_Ag had seen first: a small figure running towards them.

"Demon Spirit Fireballs!", he attacked, just in time to save this unknown stranger who shouldn't've been there. He got the last of them, leaving none for Antiramon to take out.

"Are you OK?", Henry asked of a girl. She was laying on the walkway. Golden hair in two pony tails, but dressed completely in black. Even the ribbons in her hair were black.

"Who... Who are you?", Takato called out. She pushed herself to her feet and stood by a large dog. She was wearing a poofy dress, long stockings that completely covered her legs to the hemline. Since she had obvious breasts, they figured her being thirteen maybe fourteen. They were unfamiliar with Goth style.

"It's not...", Takato said to himself. He was hoping it was Juri, despite the odd attire, the wrong hair colour, the blue eyes, the obviously European look.

"Who?", Ruki asked.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"What is it trying to communicate?", Yamaki asked himself. The signal was very weak, and he wondered that it was getting through at all.

"Dolphin!", he called out. McCoy came running.

"What did you use for the Ark's on-board systems?", he asked.

"We didn't believe it was necessary to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, so we used the core digimon program as its AI. It's just the digicore: the most basic part of the entire program... Why do you ask?"

"Still, it ended up acting on its own", Yamaki told him. "It's trying to communicate. Is it possible that it has a will of its own?"

"We didn't know it at the time", McCoy explained, "but it's likely that the digimon had something special all along - something that exceeded our design parameters. Why do you ask?"

"The Ark is trying to send us something", Yamaki explained.

"I... suppose it's possible", McCoy explained, "but for it to attain self-awareness so quickly... I mean, it took _years_ before the digimon became entirely self-aware. What did you have in mind?", he asked.

Dolphin got to work, trying to clear the noise from the transmission. After he succeeded, they saw it was video from the Digital World. Zhuqiaomon was firing his Blazing Helix repeatedly at a massive column of Chaos Mass that reached, and attached itself, to the Material World Sphere.

The sky was no longer that dark blue, but was filled with very dark gray clouds. They couldn't tell if these were storm clouds, or if the sky was thick with smoke. They assumed the latter. ...

"The ones who fight with digimon...", she began, "...Tamers"

"You mean us?", Takato asked.

"I've been looking for you", she explained.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?", Ruki asked.

"Takato!"

"What is it, Growlmon?"

"That... dog. It's not a pet... It's a digimon!"

"Alice", the "dog" asked (so they knew her name) "are they the ones?"

"I believe so", Alice said. "Unfortunately..."

She seemed sad, but they had no idea why. The "dog" was growling at them.

"Is he your partner?", Henry asked, "And what's he so pissed off about?"

"This is Dobermon", Alice introduced. "When I found him, I thought he was road kill. That's when I took him home, seeing he was still alive. Once he regained consciousness, he spoke. Scared hell out of me, at first. He explained where he came from and why. He asked for my help, seeing he's not real familiar with our world. That, whatever-it-is has been after him ever since his arrival. This attack, it wasn't the first, just the worst... I'm happy he trusted me".

"But _why_ did he come here?", Ruki asked.

"What does he want with us?", Kazu asked.

"I came to give you something..."

"Give us... something?", Henry asked.

Before they could get an answer, two long, gray-blue tendrils appeared out of nowhere. These wrapped themselves around the overpass, several times. It happened with unbelievable speed.

"Look out!", Suzy called out as they began to glow orange-white. They began to melt their way through the structure, melting glass and steel. It neatly sliced through the overpass; everyone ran uphill as the overpass began dropping to the street below.

"It's _huge_!", Takato called out as the latest D-reaper agent finally appeared. It was the same colour as its tendrils, was vaguely anthroform with heavily muscled arms, ill-formed head with red eyes, though its body looked skeletal, with structures suggesting an exposed rib cage.

_Matrix Evolution_

_Galgomon Evolve! ..._

**... RAPIDMON!**

_Kyuubimon_Ag Evolve! ..._

**... DEINONDRAMON!**

_Lopmon Evolve! ..._

**... ANTIRAMON!**

_Growlmon Evolve!_

**... MEGALOGROWLMON!**

"Raptor Slash!"

"Dammit!", he swore as he watched a bunch of those smaller attack drones take the hit instead.

"It had Megalogrowlmon by the throat.

"Golden Triangle!", Rapidmon didn't get the chance to launch it, as the other hand shot out, grabbing him, throwing him to the ground.

"Hydro Shock!", Pteromon released the high energy water streams. At least that made this thing release Megalogrowlmon.

"Rapidmon!", Henry called out.

"Antiramon!", Suzy called out as it batted the tall anthro rabbit aside as if he were nothing.

"Hydro Shock!", Pteromon tried to sever the cable, but it was waiting for that, and flattened the anthro otter.

"Fuck!", she swore, as Ruki ran to her side.

"Pteromon!"

Deinondramon could only look on: that thing was too close to the other digimon and their Tamers for either an Electromagnetic Disruptor or a Raptor Slash. He doubted he'd get close enough to claw the thing.

"Fox Cards!", Taomon attacked it, diverting its attention.

"Hey guys!", Koichi called out as he came running. "Better late than never. Saw it on the news, and I figured you'd be here".

"We have to get to Mega!", Takato called out.

"This isn't the Digital World", Henry reminded. "There's no way..."

"Yes there is", Alice called out.

"What the _hell're_ you talking about?!", Henry challenged.

"It's why I brought him", she explained. "He's come with a power of the Digital World".

"Huh?", Takato asked.

"I came to bring you this: a gift from Azulongmon", Dobermon explained.

"Uh? The Holy Beasts?", Henry asked.

"Alice, I thank you for bringing me this far", Dobermon told her, "now it's best if you stand well back", he warned.

"Al... ready?", she asked.

Dobermon gave a mighty leap, was he soaring or flying? They couldn't tell.

"The Holy Beasts are fighting along side all the digimon of the Digital World. However, the most evolved part of the D-reaper is here, in this world. You are the only ones who can stop it: Tamers who fight with digimon. The four Holy Beasts grant you this power!"

With that, Dobermon seemed to dissolve, leaving just his head. The head split lengthwise into two pieces, one trailing a blue light, the other a red light.

"Dobermon", Alice said.

"What?", Takato asked.

"A power from the Digital World", Henry replied as he watched these "lights" twist and swirl around, seemingly at random.

"The same power we got", Ruki told them, "I'm sure of it!".

"We have to do something!', Kazu called out.

"Right: we're the only ones who can do this!", Takato agreed. "Megalogrowlmon!"


	31. Another Juri

**28) Another Juri**

The next thing Henry knew, he was in some very odd place. Was it real, or imaginary: he didn't know. Everything was green, and he was being scanned.

"When I was younger, I guess I was pretty selfish. I wasn't the oldest, and having two older siblings, I craved attention. I began to study Kenpo with Cho-sensei. I got into a fight with some other kid from the neighborhood - I don't recall what it was about. I used what I'd learned to beat the shit out of him. I didn't like that about myself. I didn't believe I could trust myself, and so I avoided conflict. I took a lot of shit from school bullies, because I was afraid of what I might do if I allowed myself to lose control. This gave me an overbearing attitude towards my partner. I wouldn't listen to him, understand that he couldn't change his nature as a digimon. I really thought I was doing him a favour: saving him from fighting. It took me longer than it should have to understand that some things are worth fighting for, that only we can do what's necessary to preserve life"

"Matrix Evolution!"

_Terriermon Evolve! ..._

**... SAINT GALGOMON!**

"It's not easy being the youngest", Suzy thought to herself, "always the hand-me-downs from my older sister. I know I was a bother for Henry, with his being asked to take me to the park while mom cleaned the apartment. At first, I blamed him for resenting me. That was unfair of me, as it also kept him from doing the things he'd prefer. That goes with being an older brother. I know he wants the best for me, but sometimes he's a bit over protective. I was never jealous of his relationship with Terriermon, and it wasn't my idea to become a Tamer. It just happened, but now I'm happy Lopmon became my partner. We're strong and capable, every bit as much as Henry and Terriermon"

"Matrix Evolution!"

_Lopmon Evolve! ..._

**... CHERUBIMON!**

"I liked digimon for the longest time, playing the card game with my friends. After Takato got Guilmon, I was jealous at first. Later, I wanted to do my best to help my friends. I felt so inadequate, the best I could do was draw a Blue Card... I never expected it to actually work. That's why I went looking for a partner of my own, to the Digital World. I wonder why it took so long? Instead of realizing my partner was there all along: Impmon. I do regret not being more honest with my folks about going to the Digital World".

"Matrix Evolution!"

_Impmon Evolve! ..._

**... CUCHULAMON!**

"I didn't know what to expect, when Father told me we were coming to Japan. Sure, I'd heard the usual stories from Mother, and Father when he was stationed at the Navy base in Okinawa. It was still a foreign country. Then, I met Renamon, even if I thought she was a furry. That led me to Takato, Henry, and the others. Yeah, Father was right about one thing: it would have been a lot easier to just walk away, pretend it's none of our business. However, I've come to feel something special for these folks"

"Matrix Evolution!"

_Renamon Evolve! ..._

**... SAKUYAMON!**

"I always liked digimon, playing the card game, watching the anime. I got a bit bored with the card game, especially usually losing to Kazu. All I wanted at first was a new character to spice things up a bit, and one with enough power to give me an edge. Before I could convince the others to play with my OC, Guilmon appeared, he really appeared. I wasn't expecting *that*. Since that day, we've become close friends. I also never figured on actually becoming a digimon. I felt what Dukemon felt, the wind in my face... everything. Guilmon, me... _nothing_ will keep us apart!"

"Matrix Evolution!"

_Guilmon Evolve! ..._

**... DUKEMON!**

_Pteromon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... HOUOUMON!**

"D-reaper: you seek to reduce the living beings of two worlds to nothingness. I, Dukemon, shall never allow you to get away with this... Royal Sabre!"

Alice watched, perplexed, as red and blue particles circled her. These coalesced and took a definite form.

"Dobermon?", Alice called out, hopeful that he would return. The dog's head flew to her as she stoked the side affectionately. He gave her a canine kiss just before disappearing. He wasn't returning, and this was his final farewell to her.

"Dobermon", she called out as the head burst into red and blue data.

"Dob... ermon", she called out as she watched the last of his data drift away.

Dukemon used his shield to deflect the numerous energy bursts the attack drones were firing. He took them out with a Royal Sabre.

Hououmon took off to give air cover.

"Starburst Explosion!", she fired. The bursts rained down on the D-reaper agents.

"Dammit!", Ruki cursed. "That's not gonna work!"

"There's nothing there to purify", Pteromon explained. Starburst Explosion wasn't a destructive attack. It worked by purifying corrupt digimon.

(_"As we speak, the digimon are engaging the organisms spawned from the D-reaper, called 'Agents'. Are these digimon our allies? It would seem this is indeed the case..."_)

Saint Galgomon opened up with all gun ports, taking out even more of the attack drones. Stray shots struck the Chaos Mass.

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon used this attack instead, eliminating a bunch.

"Crystal Sphere!", Sakuyamon swung her staff, creating something looking no more substantial than a soap bubble. It was both offense and defense. This time, she used it offensively, sending it into another large group of attack drones. These burst apart on contact.

"Hero's Light!", Cuchulamon took out even more.

"This isn't right", Koichi said from inside his Data Sphere.

"How do you mean?", Renamon asked.

"The damn things are falling too easily. We could've done this without evolving".

"It doesn't care: it can make them as fast as we can destroy them. It does seem to be playing with us".

Saint Galgomon opened up with another salvo.

Alice could do nothing more than be a spectator. Nothing she could do to help, as she turned and walked away. With Dobermon gone, it had no further interest in her.

"Lightening Spear!", Cherubimon fired.

"Royal Saber!"

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"The digimon are attacking", one of the techs reported.

"Digimon?", Yamaki asked.

Janyu Wong was entering the room and over heard: "the children can't be far away", he observed. "Are we just going to let those kids fight all by themselves?!"

Rob McCoy picked up a framed picture he always kept with him. It showed his son, his son-in-law, and their only child, a daughter.

"Children...", he said to himself. "Alice...", he looked at the golden haired, blue eyed girl. The picture had been taken several years ago.

"Janyu!", Yamaki called out as Janyu was headed back out the door. "You once told me there are things we can do... that we will do. You said so yourself", Yamaki reminded. Now was not a good time for Janyu to be giving into depression.

"But...", Janyu began, "over there... that's my..."

"Your son and the others are fighting with the digimon", Yamaki told him. "The digimon you created are facing this crisis together with your son and his friends. Humans, and these lives humans created, can stand up against this new threat! Isn't that right? I have confidence in these kids. So... Janyu...", Yamaki encouraged.

"C'mon, what are all of you doing?", Janyu announced to the Wild Bunch colleagues who'd gathered behind Yamaki to see what this was all about. "We have to find a way to eliminate the D-reaper!"

"Yamaki", he said. Yamaki did seem to have a talent for saying what he needed to hear when he needed to hear it - the flip side of the emotional blackmail he'd once used.

Yamaki gave a wordless "you're welcome" with a nod, as the others took off to get back to work.

_The Overpass_

Saint Galgomon ran forward. This time, the much larger, blue-gray attack drone that had brought down the overpass retaliated with those tendrils that quickly ensnared him, threatening to bring down his considerable bulk. This is what Koichi had feared: a set-up.

"Henry!", Suzy called out.

"Wh... what!", Henry called out as the thing emerged from a crater.

"I thought we destroyed that damn thing!", Suzy called back.

It was indeed back, and more attack drones were joining it. This time, they were different: copies of the first agent they'd fought and defeated.

"I'll take care of it", Sakuyamon announced.

"Spirit Foxes!" The red, blue, and green Spirit Foxes flew around her with a ghostly yipping. They wrapped themselves around the attack drones, eliminating them with an electrical attack.

"They didn't try to deflect and replicate that attack?", Koichi asked.

"I don't like this one bit", Renamon told him. "Best to stay alert for something else, something really nasty. I wonder if it isn't just probing our capabilities?"

"Huh?", Dukemon asked himself. He recognized the observation drones, knowing these had no attacks.

Koichi noticed: "It _is _just sizing us up!"

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Daisy", Yamaki requested. "The Ark you designed is still functional, but barely".

"I thought the Ark was out of power", she pointed out. "Impmon had to tap its reserves to get the kids back, remember?"

"No", Yamaki disagreed. "It contacted me. The signal was very weak though. Didn't you once say that, in the Digital World, information was power? What I propose is powering up the Ark once again. Will you help me?"

"Of course, what would you have me do?"

_The Overpass_

Dukemon ran forward, leaped mightily, and slammed the thing in its face with his shield.

"Raptor Slash!", Deinondramon freed Saint Galgomon of the tendrils.

"Burst Shot!", he fired back.

"Storm of Judgement!", Cherubimon held it back while Dukemon readied his main attack.

"Final Elision!" This time, it was eliminated as it clearly dissolved into Chaos Mass.

They looked on. The Chaos Mass had grown so much that it had engulfed half the old Hypnos building.

"D-reaper!", Dukemon called out, "what are your intentions?!"

"That won't do any good, Dukemon", Sakuyamon said. "It doesn't seem to be much of a conversationalist"

"All we can do is fight it", Saint Galgomon agreed. "We aren't going to get any answers from it". ...

"Dammit!"

"Pee pii puu plolo", Marineangemon replied.

"I'm a Tamer too!", Kenta said. "We can't just sit around doing nothing!"

"Kenta", his mother called out, "about your new school...". She entered his bedroom.

"Kenta?"

Once again, Kenta left without saying where he was going.

_The Overpass_

They ran forward. The Chaos Mass responded by moving much faster than they'd ever seen, flowing towards them. A pseudopod shot forth..."

"Wait!", Sakuyamon called out. "Don't..."

"Dukemon!", Sakuyamon called out. He had either not heard, or decided to ignore her warning. It had ensnared Dukemon, as he was in the lead. Sakuyamon took fierce swings at the mass with her staff. It had no effect whatsoever.

"Dukemon!", she watched, horror stricken, as he was pulled towards the main mass. It was as she feared: a set-up. It led them into a sense of over confidence.

"Did we lose him?", Koichi asked.

"I... don't know", Renamon replied. "If this was the Digital World...", she couldn't complete that thought.

"Dukemon?", Koichi said from his Data Sphere. "Takato!", he called out.

"Fuck!", Saint Galgomon called out. He was too far away, too uncertain of firing at the mass.

"Starlight Explosion!", Hououmon fired off in the hopes it might do something, anything. It did nothing, the bursts simply disappearing into the Chaos Mass.

"Lightening Spear!"

"Hero's Light!"

Cherubimon and Cuchulamon tried hitting it at the base. They slowed it down, but not long enough to buy Dukemon enough time to free himself.

Takato screamed. He couldn't help but cringe as he saw the Chaos Mass rushing up. He was certain he was about to be deleted. Isn't that how it worked in the Digital World?

The others watched, helpless, as Dukemon disappeared into the main mass. A brief gold shimmer spreading out along its surface, like ripples on a pond, was the only sign of his passing.

Takato was pleasantly surprised to see he was still in one piece. Below him, entire buildings had been torn from their foundations and were now standing atop columns of that red mass.

"What a fucked up place", he said.

"Takato!"

"What is it, Guilmon?"

"I don't think I can hold this form for much longer!"

Takato looked around: "There!", he pointed to a stand of trees that looked as though they were unchanged off to his right.

Dukemon barely made it in time. Takato and Guilmon broke their form on a walking path. This area had once been part of Chou Park. He looked around.

"Why is everything OK here?", Takato asked.

"The trees?", Guilmon speculated.

"It is because the analysis of physical life forms is not yet complete", a voice said.

"Huh?", Takato asked himself. "Juri" stepped from behind a tree, still wearing the yellow PJs and orange sweater.

"Juri! Everyone's been worried _sick_ about you!". Something didn't feel right: "Juri... what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"The human individual known as Juri Katou has been a most fascinating specimen...", "Juri" was explaining.

"Ehhhh?!", was all Takato could say to that. This wasn't how Juri talked.

"A foreign body entered the network as data - a human. Its behaviour algorithm was discovered to be much like that of the D-reaper..."

"What the _hell're_ you saying?!", Takato called out as he took her by the shoulders. She grinned back at him: "Juri's thought processes lead only to futile and destructive behaviours..."

"JUUUURI!", Takato shook her. "Snap out of it!"

He didn't notice the form was beginning to change.

"It seems the humans have a term for it: sadness..."

"Takato! That's not Juri!", Guilmon warned.

"What're you talking about! She's warm. She's alive! It's Juri! Juri!"

"D-reaper analyzed the specimen known as Juri in order to act independently of the humans who'd created it. In so doing, it acquired human language..."

"Juri!"

Takato gave a small jump backwards as the figure began to emit reddish "fumes". Its height nearly doubled.

"That's the D-reaper too!", Guilmon called out as he began to growl. Two light blue wings sprouted from its back, though these looked more decorative than functional. The wings did, however, resemble those of the observation drones.

"D-reaper loaded digimon data and thereby discovered how to create for itself autonomous entities you call 'Agents'..."

"Juri?", Takato said. "Then where's the real Juri?!", he demanded.

"This is a message for humans and digimon", "Juri" continued as though everything he said was beneath contempt. "D-reaper has concluded that neither of you are worthy of existence. Beings so weak, so imperfect: humans and digimon".

This Juri look-alike began advancing. The leaves of two trees she passed instantly withered, died and dropped to the ground. D-reaper had finished its analysis of physical life. Takato and Guilmon both backed away.

"Tell me where Juri is!", he demanded again.

The figure smiled back at him.

"Takato! We can't stay here!", Guilmon warned.

"It is meaningless", "Juri" informed him. "The D-reaper will eventually delete her"

It turned and walked away.

"I'll _never_ let that happen!", Takato called after it.

"What are we gonna do now?!", Cherubimon asked. "He didn't..."

"I don't know", Saint Galgomon said.

"We can't just walk away?", Hououmon said.

"Let me think", Sakuyamon told them.

"Here's the deal", she explained, "I can get in there, but there's a problem".

"What?", Cuchulamon asked.

"I can make a Crystal Sphere big enough for just one of you... any more and I can't guarantee its integrity for the whole trip".

"Even if you get in, then what?", Cherubimon asked.

"Hope like hell Takato and Guilmon are OK, and that we can somehow get them back out".


	32. Into the Belly of the Beast

**29) Into the Belly of the Beast**

"Then who?", Cherubimon asked.

"I could go", Hououmon volunteered.

"I think it should be Saint Galgomon", Cuchulamon explained. "He's got all the fire power, and those Giant Bazookas just might be the thing for getting back out".

There would be no more debating the matter. Something came flying towards them from the roof of a nearby building.

"D-reaper!", Cherubimon called out, "it's trailing a cable".

The color was puke green, but different. The D-reaper seemed to be getting more adept at making anthroform agents. It had orange markings, a black face outlined in orange, and this face was more detailed, and expressive. The look on its face was unmistakable: rage and malevolence.

Even though it was at a size disadvantage, it flew at Saint Galgomon, knocking him to the ground with a single punch. It was as strong as the well muscled physique implied.

Its next intended victim was Sakuyamon. Cherubimon flew in with a kick to its face that drove it off.

"Thousand Lightening Arrows!", he fired at it to drive it back. "Over here! Over here!", he taunted, as he stood on a pile of smashed pavement.

"You're trying to divert its attention?", Sakuyamon asked.

The new agent took a swing at Cherubimon, but succeeded in just pulverizing the pavement, as he leaped out of the way.

"Leave this to us! Go help Dukemon!", he called out.

Cherubimon tackled the agent, and both went flying away from the others.

"Let's go!", Sakuyamon called out.

"OK!", Saint Galgomon agreed. "Suzy, be careful", he said.

"Moumentai!", Terriermon reassured. "Lopmon won't let any harm come to her", he encouraged.

Saint Galgomon fired his rocket packs, as Sakuyamon led the way towards the Chaos Mass.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

Riley was watching through binoculars at the old Hypnos building with Yamaki beside her. So far there was not much to see. The Chaos Mass had increased in size, and they were still wondering about the mysterious sphere that had appeared suddenly.

Janyu was replaying the scenes the Ark sent from the Digital World, trying to make sense of why the Digital World D-reaper had attached itself to the Material World Sphere.

"I wonder if it came here?", Janyu asked.

"What?", Shibumi asked.

"The core of its artificial intelligence".

"I suppose it would have a copy in both worlds", Shibumi theorized, "if one were to be destroyed, then it would have a back-up".

"Or would it be more worried about the resistance it would encounter from the digimon? Figure humans wouldn't have the means to threaten it? Conventional arms were ineffective", Janyu disagreed. "I'm going to run a scan of that Chaos Mass... maybe this'll tell us something. I just wonder which way the information's going through that connection"

He began the infrared scan...

"Here, take a look at this", he called Shibumi over. "The temperature is quite consistent, except for this area where it's considerably cooler".

"Why is its effect weaker here?"

"It corresponds to the area around the Hypnos building... That has to be it: that sphere, that has to be the kernel". ...

The latest D-reaper agent returned, this time, much larger.

"Hero's...": Cuchulamon didn't get the chance, as he was struck with a massive fist. He was going to stomp him out of existence.

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon attacked from above. The D-reaper agent took a fierce swing, but missed, as Hououmon was too nimble.

"Storm of Judgment!", Cherubimon struck. At first, it looked as though these attacks had done the job. The agent disappeared amidst the explosions and lightening strikes.

"Look out!", Hououmon called out, as it reappeared.

"Lightening Spear!", Cherubimon sent it into the side of a building. This hardly dazed it at all, and it leaped, aiming for Hououmon. This time, knocking the avian to the ground.

_Inside the Chaos Mass_

Takato and Guilmon were hiding in the woods. Juri's laughter seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

"Where's Juri!", Takato demanded again.

As if in answer, Juri's hand puppet appeared from behind a tree.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!", it called to them. "D-reaper has retrieved memories of Takato from Juri", the puppet said.

"Wh... what?"

"I forgot my recorder", the puppet said.

Takato recalled. Once again, he was denied recess, having to stay in the classroom, writing another letter of apology. He was day dreaming when Juri returned to the classroom to fetch her recorder.

"Woof! Woof!", the puppet appeared around the door frame: "If you don't get busy on that apology, you'll be stuck here forever", it had warned him.

This had happened sometime just before Guilmon's appearance.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!", the hand puppet was saying just as three sharp claws attached to three blue-gray fingers ripped it to shreds. The laughter continued. The Juri impostor appeared, looking liker Juri.

"Always with your 'Digimon, Digimon'", she said.

Takato recalled: that day on the play ground at recess when Juri and her friend Miki had given them a hard time for their interest. "Never get tired of it, do you?", Juri asked. "How childish", she'd accused. This, as she concealed her own interest, just a day or two before she asked Takato to show her Guilmon.

"This is bad", Takato announced, "I'm feeling all fuzzy in the head". He didn't know if this was D-reaper activity, or unbelief that the D-reaper could somehow read minds and memories.

"Takato! Hang in there!", Guilmon said as he supported his partner as it looked like he was on the verge of fainting. "Takato! Takato!"

Fake Juri looked around, still laughing as though there was nothing wrong.

"I'm not a nice girl", she was saying. "When my real mother died, I stopped crying after a few days..."

Takato recalled that conversation as well. It had happened on Azulongmon's "cloud car": "Stop it, Juri!", he ordered her.

"My step-mother is a good person and I tried to like her... But..."

"Juri!", Takato called out.

"Takato!", Guilmon ordered, "it's not Juri! Don't go to her! It's using your feelings for Juri against you!"

"It's all because of destiny"

This time, any pretense was dropped. "Juri's" face shattered, revealing what was underneath. This agent was anthro, female in appearance with light, blue-gray skin. The eyes reptilian. It was wearing a dark red body suit with gray, knee-length trousers. Its outfit decorated with yellow piping. The hair unruly. Its size increased again, doubling its height.

"Nothingness is beautiful", she announced. "Everything goes back to nothingness".

"Where's the real Juri?!", Takato demanded of her.

This agent was improving: it destroyed entire trees. As it touched them, they burst into data. Takato and Guilmon were running, hoping to outdistance it.

_East Shinjuku_

"How will we catch up?", Kenta asked. He expected no coherent answer from his partner who was the only digimon who hadn't learned Japanese.

"Saint Galgomon!", he called out as the anthrocat cyborg soared overhead. He hadn't heard.

"That way!", Kenta called out, as he began running. ...

Sakuyamon landed on the guardrail of an overpass. "I think it was just about here", she informed Saint Galgomon as he pulled up.

"Do you think we can get in?", he asked.

"Leave that to me", she said, as she struck the rail with her staff. The jingly rings gave off an unusual tone. She swung the staff, tracing out overlapping circles of pink light: "Crystal Sphere!"

The sphere formed from those overlapping pink circles: "Let's go!", as she propelled the Crystal Sphere towards the Chaos Mass. Chaos Mass splashed outwards as the leading edge of the sphere made contact.

"This is...", she began as soon as the Sphere was through.

"...Horrible", Saint Galgomon completed the thought.

Buildings were strewn about at random, as though they were toys some children had neglected to pick up and put away after playing "War".

"Over there!", Sakuyamon had noticed the disturbance in the wooded area not too far off.

More observation drones appeared.

"You OK?", Saint Galgomon asked, concerned. He'd seen Sakuyamon nearly double over in considerable distress.

"Dammit!", Koichi cursed from inside his Data Sphere.

"There's something wrong here", Renamon told him. "We're losing power much too fast. I don't know if I can hold this form for much longer".

"We have to keep it together, Takato and Guilmon will probably be needing us if this happened to them too". ...

The fake Juri agent was closing in, too close for comfort, when Takato tripped himself and Guilmon. The thing was coming on fast when something small and pink intervened.

"Poo! Poo! Poo!", Marineangemon fired off a barrage of Ocean Love bursts. These burst against the Juri impostor, causing her considerable distress. She finally turned and fled the scene.

"Marineangemon drove it off", Guilmon announced.

"If Marineangemon's here", Takato said, "then..."

"You two, sitting around, screwing off at a time like this?"

"Kenta!", Takato called out.

"What a relief", Kenta said, "I didn't know what we'd do if we couldn't meet up with you"

"Another one", Kenta pointed out the red bubble that emerged from a crack in the sidewalk.

"Poo!", Marineangemon disintegrated it.

"You walk all this way?", Takato asked.

"Yeah"

"Amazing", Guilmon added.

Something caught Marineangemon's attention. Sakuyamon landed, was on one knee, using her staff to keep herself steady. Marinenagemon fired off a series of Ocean Love bursts, which she absorbed.

"Thanks, little dude, not a moment too soon", she was able to stand, as the rings of her staff jingled. "I'm glad I found all of you intact... Kenta, what are you doing here?"

"I'm a Tamer too, yannow"

"Talk later", Saint Galgomon announced. "Let's get the _hell_ out of here!"

He carried the ones who couldn't fly, and headed for the nearest wall of Chaos Mass.

"Giant Bazooka!", he fired off both rockets. They struck, blowing a hole big enough to escape through. ...

The D-reaper agent picked up a huge section of broken pavement, lifted it high above his head. He threw it at Hououmon.

"Hero's Light!", Cuchulamon blasted it to rubble before it could hit her.

"Thanks, Cuchulamon", Hououmon called back.

"We can't get this done?", Cherubimon asked.

"We have to sever that cable", Cuchulamon said. "That's how it powers up, and the frontal assault method is getting the shit beat out of us".

Cuchulamon leaped atop a second story balcony: "Hey! You ugly bastard! Up here!"

As it threw itself at Cuchulamon, Cherubimon slipped behind, grabbed the cable with both hands and pulled mightily, using a highway sign for extra leverage.

"Now! Let him have it!", he called out.

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon sliced through the cable (Cherubimon dropped to the street unharmed).

The creature roared in agony, as it began to shed Chaos Mass, almost looking like it was on fire. It burst apart into splatters of Chaos Mass.

Saint Galgomon, Sakuyamon, Takato, Guilmon, Kenta and Marineangemon arrived just in time to see its demise.

"Glad to see all of you made it out", Cuchulamon said. "Kenta, Marineangemon?"

"Oh yeah", Kenta explained. "We saw it on the news, and we knew we had to come. Would have been here sooner..."

"You did have to come quite a ways", Sakuyamon replied. "We - me especially - are thankful you arrived when you did. That space, it drains our energy".

"That's what happened to Dukemon", Takato confirmed.

"What I don't get", Guilmon said, "is why that effect ended after I returned to Rookie. It didn't seem to affect me then".

"It's only the higher level digimon", Saint Galgomon theorized. "I felt it too, but didn't come as close to those observation drones".

"Juri...", Takato said.

"We know where she is", Sakuyamon told him. "Renamon and Calumon found her. She's inside that sphere that's stuck between the twin towers. She broke through, and at least she isn't alone, she has Calumon with her".

"Then we can get her!"

_Ruki's House_

"That is just too weird", Kazu said as they broke their biomerges just outside the front gate. "Guys becoming girls... girls becoming guys", he said as he looked to Suzy and Lopmon.

"You have to understand that gender isn't specific", Renamon told him. "In our virtual lives, gender is only by personality and disposition. The biological aspects don't exist there. It sometimes changes with changes in levels".

"We got some idea how the other half lives", Suzy told him.

"Yes, we do", Renamon agreed.

"We made good", Henry told his mother, "back safe and sound, just as we promised".

"It was tough, seeing it live... We said we'd get through it, and we meant it. You did good out there".

"When we stick together, we have each other's backs", Koichi explained.

"Takato!", Guilmon ran around the back.

"We never got the chance to thank her", Ruki said.

"Who?", Pteromon asked.

"That Alice girl".

"I'm sure she understands".

"Takato, you alright?", Guilmon asked. Takato was standing at the edge of the back yard, just looking off into the distance.

"If you let yourself get all depressed, you might demoralize everyone".

"I know", he sighed.

"We're all worried about Juri"

"I just wonder how she's doing", he explained. "I want to rescue her, get her out of there".

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

"Culululu? Juri?"

Juri was sitting there, knees pulled to her chest, arms resting on her knees. Even though her eyes were open, she had not moved from that position since Calumon arrived. She said nothing, didn't even give him a glance. Calumon had no idea as what he could do for her.


	33. Moving in with Yamaki

**30) Moving in with Yamaki**

"Jurrrriiii. Culu?"

Calumon had finally gotten a reaction from Juri. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

"Destiny", was all she said.

(_Juri watched with her father as a doctor in a white lab coat pulled a sheet over her mother's head._

_"It was destined", the doctor said. She looked up into a featureless face with glowing eyeglass lenses._

_"Yes", her father said in resignation. "We have to accept it"._

_"No!", a five year old Juri protested._

_She ran from the room and out into the hallway. It was oddly distorted, the hall very dark, the walls curved as though viewed through a fish eye lens._

_"You can't run away from destiny", a nurse told her, the only features glowing eyes._

_"Accept your destiny", another faceless nurse or doctor told her._

_"No!", Juri called out. "This can't be happening!"_

_"Just give up", another advised._

_"You can't change destiny", yet another told her as she ran past._

_Nearing the end of the hall, she was brought up by a figure of her ten year old self. She had her hand puppet. As her older version turned, Juri saw she had no face, just a mouth filled with fangs dripping saliva. The hand puppet opened a mouth with the same fangs, also dripping with saliva._

_"It's destiny, woof!", the hand puppet said._

_She backed away from the frightening apparition, only to back into someone: another white lab coat clad figure. He was flanked by endless columns of identical figures:_

_"Destiny. Destiny. Destiny...", they chanted in chorus)_

The black Hypnos vans were packed with the Tamers, their partners, and their parents.

"Depending on the location, it's growing at a rate of one to one-and-a-half kilometers every day", one of the techs was briefing them. "its rate of growth is accelerating".

"My neighborhood", Ruki said, as she watched the real time map. It was encroaching on her street, and would probably reach her home by sundown.

"It isn't safe there anymore, so we're moving you in with Mr. Wong and Mr. Yamaki. It's less than ideal, and living will be tight. They're also transferring the operations site. I don't know for how long our temporary headquarters will be safe... I wish there were some other way..." ...

"So I'll put the onigiri here?", one of the Hypnos techs asked. They were busy preparing for the arrival of their live-in guests.

"OK, thank you", another replied.

"The miso soup is done too", yet another announced.

"We need hot hand towels"

It was organized chaos, as this was not one of Hypnos' purposes. Amidst this chaos, Yamaki and the Wild Bunch were trying to take care of business. It wasn't easy, to say the least.

"Look at this", Daisy was saying as Babel and Yamaki looked on.

She clicked the mouse four times, producing images of a nose piece, a tail piece, and two bat-like wings.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?", Babel asked.

"Not just the design, but also the chrome digitizoid - a virtual metal from the Digital World", Yamaki explicated.

"We will power up the Ark with this..."

"No! No! No!", it was Impmon. "You got it _all_ wrong", he complained. "That's not the configuration of a Violet Zone fighter. You totally fucked it up!".

Impmon and his partner had arrived early, as they were consulting with Impmon on the modifications they were doing to the original Ark.

"Then how would you do it?", Daisy asked.

"In the first place, it doesn't have a bird head... Here, let me show you", he asked. Daisy relinquished her seat for Impmon.

"Can you...", she started to ask.

"I was in the Air Defense Corps, remember. I have about 10,000 hours in these birds, and know the specs forward and backward".

"OK, then, how would you do it?"

"First of all, the nose piece: think dolphin, not bird", as he drew a curved canopy that curved gently to a narrow nose.

"As for the wings, they're not straight like that, but sweep back, like this", he removed the bat wings, replacing them with long, thin wings that swept back towards the tail. "And the profile is recurvant". He showed thin leading edge that started out with a normal camber, but the trailing edge swept back up.

"Aileron and elevator function are combined... And yaw is controlled by winglets", he added the thin vertical winglets Daisy's original design lacked.

"The turbojets are mounted on external nacelles behind the wings", he added these. "The closest thing you have here in the Material World is Jet-A. It's still not quite right, but if you don't push 'em too hard, they won't blow apart on you".

"What about vectored thrust?", Yamaki asked.

"Won't need it. You can damn near hit Mach One with this design, but you can land at about fifty knots ground speed. This is a close support fighter, and doesn't go supersonic. It's light and nimble, just the thing you need for ground support and low altitude dogfights. Just the thing we need for engaging hostile flighted digimon. It's been quite awhile since we impmon had to fire a shot in anger, but that wasn't always the case. If necessary, you can vertical drop, but expect something to break if you hit the ground that way", Impmon explained.

"Forch, this design doesn't 'death spiral' even if you have a flame out - unlike every other fighter design I've seen here in the Material World. That's one problem we've solved, and you haven't".

"How is that possible?", Yamaki asked.

"It's the wing contour", Impmon explained. "flying wings are highly unstable because you have no counter force. Pitch is controlled by the sweep back. Move the center of lift backwards, and you force the nose down, and vice versa. It doesn't give you much leeway. The recurvant wings give you two forces that balance against one another, and much more control.

You also can't hardly stall. Pull the nose up, drop forward airspeed, and instead of a stall, a vortex forms above the wings. That keeps the stall from happening, unless a sudden gust blows the vortex off the wing, that is. Otherwise, you simply drop with little forward airspeed. It simply can not be forced into a spin that can develop into a death spiral. As for weapons systems..."

"We aren't including any just yet", Yamaki explained. "I'm calling it 'Zero Arms Grani'..."

"Why the hell not!"

"I don't see the point. We have the digimon, and with their capabilities, what more do we need?"

"Extra help, you never know".

"OK, we'll think of something", he promised.

"Our guests are arriving", Shibumi announced as he wiped powdered sugar from his mustache and beard.

"Can I borrow your Ark?", he asked of Henry.

He handed it over: "I'll never get used to that: calling the digivice an 'Ark'... my old man did that too".

"Well, that's what we originally intended to call 'em", Shibumi explained. "It's that our project never got that far, and we never marketed them".

"What do you intend to use it for?", Henry asked. ...

"Hey!", Ruki called out.

"Oh hi", the girl dressed in all black replied.

"Sorry we never got to say 'Thanks' for bringing Dobermon".

"You were kind'a busy... Alice... Alice McCoy".

"Ruki Makino..."

"Pteromon..."

"Koichi Lonnegan, and my partner: Renamon", he introduced as he joined them. "Glad you showed up when you did".

"Likewise", the anthrovixen agreed.

"You're an American too?"

"Yep"

"My granddad, Dolphin, brought me here when he came to work with Mr. Yamaki. I've never been out of the country... well, except for a vacation to Canada three years ago. I was thrilled he asked. I thought it would be an adventure, and it sure did turn out to be one, what with meeting Dobermon, and you guys. I never would'a thought..."

"Same here: I was never expecting to meet up with Renamon".

"I... wish I had a partner... although I never considered it until I found Dobermon, but he had a different mission".

"You into the Goth scene?", Koichi asked to change the subject.

"Yeah, pretty obvious, isn't it? You?"

"I'm another one of your fellow outcasts and nonconformists: I'm a Furry. Though I do like Evanescence, London After Midnight, Mephisto Waltz".

"We have a few at my high school... Yeah, sometimes it isn't easy, not always going along, especially for freshmen".

Ruki had no idea what they were talking about: "Ummmm, never heard of them... Any good?"

"It's different", Alice said.

"If we ever get through with this, I'll burn you some CDs", Koichi promised.

"Yo! Takato!", Koichi called out with a loud whistle to get his attention.

"Oh...", Takato said.

"You were there, at the overpass?", Guilmon asked.

"Alice McCoy: Takato and Guilmon", Koichi introduced.

"I was hoping we'd meet some day", he said. "We really appreciate what you did for us... Too bad Dobermon couldn't deliver our power without the self sacrifice".

"Yeah...", she said wistfully. "I still miss him..."

"What say we get some of that chow before it's all gone?", Koichi asked. ...

"What're you gonna do with it?", Henry asked.

Shibumi had opened a slot on top of the digivice to reveal a USB port connection.

"I need it to materialize Grani", he explained. "You know what the materialization was, originally?", he asked.

He brought up a graphic on his work station: "From the Digital World, to the Material World, it's a type of quantum 'teleportation' - information transfer. The original information is destroyed from the Digital World, but is recreated here in the Material World. The transferred information exists as a proxy, or 'information energy', but needs something to turn it into a physical presence. The Ark holds the key for that. Do you get it?"

"Yes, so you'll be needing to make a copy of the digivice's program?"

"Perzakly", Shibumi replied. "Not often I get to see someone who knows what I'm talking about... I guess you got it from Tao?"

"I don't know where else", Henry agreed. ...

"Takato!", Guilmon called out.

"Ehhhh? What's up?"

Guilmon pointed out the man and woman standing apart from the others.

"Who're they?", Ruki asked.

"Juri's parents", Takato explained.

"They were worried and came all the way from Matsumoto", Tally explained.

"I see...", Ruki replied.

Takato ran after Hajime. He looked really pissed off about something. Not exactly the sociable type.

"Please don't be angry with Juri", Takato pleaded as they waited for the elevator.

He just glared back at Takato without saying a word.

"It wasn't her fault!", he continued explaining. "That's the truth! Please believe me!"

The elevator arrived, and he glared back before stepping into the elevator.

"Anyway, Juri didn't do anything wrong!"

The elevator door closed, and Takato suspected he'd been wasting his time, trying to reason with this asshole.

"I feel awful about this", Shizue was telling Rumiko. "I want to apologize somehow to Juri's deceased mother".

"I understand how you feel...", Rumiko was saying as she realized what a _faux pas_ this was. "I mean... uhhhh...". It was hopeless. She watched as Ruki was climbing the stairs ...

Ruki sat at an outside deck, just her alone, pondering.

"I felt so much self pity over my situation, but my father's still alive. I could see him any time I wanted. As for Juri, from what I saw, she looked so happy, like she could say 'Problems? What're those?' I... killed her partner. I _have_ to do something!"

She went back down to the main floor. ...

"What's this?", Kenta asked Janyu, "an old video game?" Kazu and Marineangemon were looking on.

"The D-reaper in its original state", he explained.

The screen showed something looking a lot like Pacman devouring "food pellets". Not very impressive.

"So how did this...", he pointed to the screen, "...become that?", as he pointed out the window to the Chaos Mass.

"It evolved, somehow, like the digimon", Janyu explained. ...

"It looks like information is gathering there", Curly commented to Dolphin, as she looked over his shoulder.

"That's what I was thinking... it looks like this is the Kernel", he said, referring to the red sphere between the twin towers. "Could it be the D-reaper's 'brain'?", he asked. "If it is, then all we have to do is destroy it".

"Then we could eliminate the whole D-reaper?", Curly asked.

"You can't!", Takato objected.

"Why?"

"Inside, Juri's trapped in there", he explained. "If you destroy it, you destroy Juri... You can't!"

"You're certain of this?", Dolphin asked.

"Absolutely. If you don't believe me, ask Renamon: she was there; she saw it for herself, and she helped Calumon get inside".

"Ummmm... that does complicate things", Dolphin and Curly agreed. "You have to understand, and as much as I hate to say it, we may have no choice... But, for now, we don't have the means..."

"Give us a chance to get her out!", Takato insisted.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

Hajime leaned hard on the horn as he sped at a road block.

"Stop!", the police officers demanded.

They leaped aside as they realized that the driver had no intention of stopping. He smashed the wooden saw horses. ...

"Why did one of your vans run a roadblock?", the officer was complaining to Yamaki.

"The van is gone!", the driver announced just at that moment. "It's all my fault! I left the keys in the ignition", he explained.

"Thank you for reporting it", Yamaki said to the officer, as he hung up.

"I'm sorry", the driver said.

"Just who would...", Yamaki asked himself.

"I have a pretty good idea", Takato explained. "Where is this roadblock he ran?" ...

"Juri... Juri...", Hajime was saying to himself as he stopped about a block from the Chaos Mass. He got out, and took off his jacket, as it was uncomfortably warm, so close to the D-reaper.

"JURI! JURI! JURI!", he called out repeatedly.

"Juri, culu, someone's calling for you, culu?", Calumon had heard.

Hajime got no answer. He remembered: he wasn't very good with very small children, recalling an incident where he'd been rougher than he'd like, undressing a toddler Juri.

"It's because I was so awkward", he recalled.

"Tell her that if such a selfish daughter wants to come home, she can come by herself", he recalled that phone conversation with Yamaki's assistant.

"I'll go...", her step mother suggested.

"I told you to stop doing that. If you forgive her that easily, nothing will change", he objected. "It's for the best for both of you: you and Juri"

"Why did I say such things?", he asked himself as he stood in the street.

"Destiny... Destiny... Destiny..."

"J... Juri?", he asked as he looked all around. It was unmistakably Juri's voice, but she was no where to be seen.

Koichi, Takato, Ruki, and Kazu came up. Koichi had driven them there, in another borrowed Hypnos van, and Yamaki arranged for them to pass the roadblock. The cops were waiting, and told them where the other van was headed. Koichi quickly found it, parked in the middle of the lane.

"Mr. Katou, that's not your daughter", Takato explained. "It's the D-reaper"

Suddenly, another "agent" burst forth from the Chaos Mass. This one was the same red color, tall, with a vaguely anthropomorphic form: two hands with five fingers. The head bulbous and featureless. The head and body covered with yellow, hemispherical mouths. a half dozen tendrils extended from the "neck" of the thing.

"Destiny... Destiny... Destiny...", all these mouths said in chorus.

"That voice... Where are you, Juri?!", Hajime called out again.

"It's not Juri!", Takato told him. "The D-reaper's using her voice".

"Destiny... Destiny... Destiny...", it continued.

"Stop using Juri's voice!", Takato demanded of it.

"Let's go!", Takato called out.

"Wait", Renamon said, as one of the tendrils shot forward. From the end, projected the video camera the D-reaper had taken from the SDF soldier. It pointed at Hajime.

"Huh?", he asked, as it began giving him a good looking over.

"Comparing with Juri's memories", it said in its own voice. "Search complete. Identified: Hajime Katou. Human. Father", it said. "Father".

"What is it doing?", Guilmon asked.

"It's researching", Renamon explained. "The digimon familial system is different, and it doesn't understand the concept of 'father'".

"Researching?!", Ruki asked with indignation. It seemed all to cold-blooded and uncomfortably familiar.

"Searching other memories", it announced. It came up with Juri's memory of coming down to the bar and grill to get a glass of orange juice for Leomon. The way her father had roughly reprimanded her for doing so during business hours. The way he demanded her to not forget to wash the glass.

"I beg you", Hajime asked tears running down his cheeks, "Please... let Juri go. She's my beloved daughter. You can have me instead, just let her go. OK?"

"Process interrupted", it announced. "Behavior is remarkably inconsistent with Juri's collected memories. Why? Why? Why?"

"How could _you_ understand how Juri feels?!", Ruki challenged it.

"Why? Why? Why? Why?", the mouths asked in chorus.

The camera began to retract back into the tendril.

"No! Wait!", Hijime called out. "Return my daughter!", he demanded.

In desperation, he grabbed onto the tendril, holding on for dear life as the agent tried to shake him off.

"Renamon!", Koichi called out.

_Renamon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... SAKUYAMON!**

"Gotcha!" She was just in time to catch Hijime as he fell from too high, as he lost his grip on the tendril. Otherwise, it would have been a nasty fall.

"It's your father, culu?", Calumon announced to Juri.

"Dad?", she asked herself. She'd seen from inside the Kernel Sphere, but found it hard to believe he cared that much. "Dad", she said again.

"Detecting unusual activity: Juri's thought processes have entered active mode", the agent announced. "Beginning memory retrieval"

"Get the FUCK out of Juri's head!", Takato demanded.

_Guilmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... DUKEMON!**

_Pteromon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... HOUOUMON!**

_Impmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... CUCHULAMON!**

"Royal Sabre!", Dukemon blew off one of its hands.

"Dammit!", he called out as he watched the missing hand regenerate. It shot forth, capturing him. As if that were bad enough, he discovered that the yellow "mouths" could be shot out from a tendril. Dukemon narrowly dodged a couple as they took swings at him.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Why is the D-reaper so interested in the parent-child relationship?", Curly asked Janyu as he was monitoring this latest fight. "Isn't deleting everything its main purpose?"

"I think it's pretty obvious", Shibumi explained. "The D-reaper is becoming self aware. It's not just another program run amok. Curiosity is a product of self awareness. It wants to learn. There's also another possibility: it's afraid..."

"Afraid?", Yamaki asked.

"Why not? Do we not fear the unknown?"

"If that's the case, can we negotiate with it?", Yamaki asked.

"Perhaps", Shibumi theorized, "if it has more than just a rudimentary self awareness, and if it holds off its destructive imperative long enough to develop to that stage, but that's a big if... There's also a more sinister implication: it's trying to learn more about us to discover our weaknesses. A malevolent, self aware enemy is that much more formidable. It's already seen we're not exactly push-overs. The D-reaper may not have a better nature to which we can make an appeal".

"How much longer?", Terriermon was complaining. "Everyone's fighting".

"Just a little longer", Shibumi told him. The process was 70% complete.

_At the Chaos Mass_

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon severed the arm, freeing Dukemon.

"All together! Let's go!", Sakuyamon called out.

This didn't work out so swell. Those "mouths" shot forth, grabbing them all by arms, wings, legs...

"They're in trouble, culu?!", Calumon was giving Juri a running account of what was happening outside.

"Keep trying! Dukemon! Sakuyamon! Cuchulamon! Hououmon!", Calumon called out.

"It's useless", Juri said. "It's useless because it's destiny".

"It's destiny... It's destiny... It's destiny... It's destiny...", the otherwise unoccupied mouths repeated.

"Bullshit!", Sakuyamon called back, "we choose our _own_ destiny!"

For that, the four mouths holding her tried to pull her apart. She screamed.

Hijime decided he had to do something, and that something was to crash the van into the thing. He jumped at the last moment, though he could seriously hurt himself, and he got a nice case of road rash from it.

"You bastard!", he called out as the van slammed into its leg. He was disappointed to see what little damage it had done, but it was enough. All the mouths dropped the digimon and aimed for Hijime for his effrontery.

This gave Dukemon the chance to skewer all the mouths with his lance, like stringing beads. Once he had all of them corralled, with himself inside a big ball of "mouths"...

"Hero's Light!", Cuchulamon fired at the main mass.

"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon severed all the tendrils connecting the "mouths" to the main body of the thing. It burst apart into Chaos Mass.

"Juri! I'm coming for you!", Takato called out.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"OK, now let's bring Grani to life", Shibumi announced.

"How?", Henry asked.

"The usual way", he replied, "a Blue Card", which he produced.

"And why are you calling it 'Grani'?"

"I named it after the war horse of the legendary knight: Siegfried", Yamaki explained.

He scanned it through Henry's digivice.

"Digital field forming right where we want it", this being a small airport just north of Shinjuku. Grani was programmed to land at that field, where Hypnos staff were waiting.

"How're we doing?", he asked.

"They say they see it, and it's coming in... Like Impmon said, not flying very fast..."

"OK, they've secured it at our hangar".

"Let's go have a look", Shibumi announced. ...

"As soon as you finish up the status check, set it up so we can add the new equipment", Riley was telling Daisy.

"Looks pretty good", Impmon was saying of the dark red digitizoid craft. "Just like the ones I flew back home".

Shibumi patted the red craft: "You did well, getting this far", he told it.

"Are you tired?", Guilmon asked the new fighter. "You hungry?", he asked. "Would you like some Guilmon bread?"

"More like Jet-A", Impmon told him. "Same fuel biz-jets use, and we have storage tanks full, so's that won't be a problem".

"Why are you talking like that?", Riley asked.

"It's still the same Ark", Guilmon explained, "and it is self aware, like any other digimon".

"That's gonna take some getting used to", Impmon said. "Our fighters didn't have any special self awareness. We had copilots for that", he explained.

Daisy gasped.

"What?"

"Riley, I'm sending you something", she said. "This was recovered from Grani's memory".

It was a video, at the Hypnos offices, the rest of the Tamers and their partners gathered around, the same as Impmon, Guilmon, and Shibumi at the hangar.

"_That's_ the Digital World?!", Henry asked. It looked nothing like he remembered. The landscape completely barren, explosions in the background, Chaos Mass bubbling from fissures, the sky black with smoke, and large columns of smoke rising in the distance. Cities were burning. No signs of life anywhere in the immediate area.

"It's... horrible!", Ruki said.

Kenta and Kazu gasped, speechless.

"It won't last much longer", Koichi said.

"Zhuqiaomon!", Lopmon called out as he saw his former master fly past.

"If this data is accurate, and we have no reason to believe it's not, 47% of the Digital World has been deleted".

"Any idea where this is?", Impmon broke in. "What of the Violet Zone?"

"No idea", Dolphin told him. "This data isn't complete as the Ark was running very low on power when this was made. It's not a complete record, I'm afraid".

"Enough screwing around", Impmon announced, "time to kick the tires and light the fires. Let's see how Grani performs".

"You heard him", Shibumi ordered the rest of the support techs. They brought over fuel hoses with quick connect fittings.


	34. To Rescue Juri

**31) To Rescue Juri**

"How much longer?", Impmon asked, impatiently.

"Almost there". The fueling was almost complete.

The Chaos Mass was just a block away from the Temporary Hypnos headquarters. They were watching its progress anxiously.

"It looks like we'll have to relocate again", Janyu said in resignation.

Takato's father gasped at hearing that. Takato's mother looked worried. As for Takato, he looked determined.

"Juri's up there", he thought to himself. "I have to get her out, and soon". He looked over to the window. The Chaos Mass had climbed more than three fourths of the way up the old Hypnos building. If it reached the top... He didn't want to think about that.

"God damn it!", Takehiro suddenly called out. "Isn't there _something_ you can do?! I can't stand it anymore... this sitting around and doing _nothing_!"

"So long as we have the means to fight back, we don't give up!", Yamaki told him. "No", he added, "we _never_ give up even if we run out of options. In order to protect our world, we do what we can with what we have. That's one thing I learned from your son, and Koichi, and all their friends. We won't let them fight alone..."

He was distracted as something was happening with the Kernel Sphere: it had begun to pulsate with a red light.

"Hell's it doin'?", he asked.

He got his answer: it increased greatly in size, completely engulfing both towers, nearly meeting the level of the Chaos Mass. Three smaller yellow spheres appeared around it, these connected by this yellow bands. Next, radial yellow lines projected outward, the gaps filled with dark green panels of some sort. It became transparent, with a rainbow iridescence, much like a soap bubble.

"What happened?", Dolphin asked.

"Is it a new agent?", Janyu speculated.

"It looks like it's trying to protect the Kernel Sphere", Dolphin decided.

"We're going!", Takato announced.

He, Henry, Koichi, Kazu, Kenta, and their partners followed.

"Lopmon, look after Suzy for me", Henry called back.

"I shall", he promised.

As they arrived outside, the Chaos Mass was uncomfortably close. They had another problem...

"Those attack drones, out of nowhere", Koichi announced. Dozens of them had arrived. The D-reaper was learning fast.

"Let's go Guilmon!", Takato announced, "to rescue Juri!"

_Matrix Evolution ..._

They all biomerged to their mega-forms.

"Dukemon, get to the airport", Sakuyamon ordered. "We'll hold them back here"

Dukemon wiped out a bunch first: "D-reaper: you destroy cities, homes, and even souls... I, Dukemon, shall surely destroy you!", he announced before leaving.

Suzy looked on: "You know you have a really important job, protecting Mom, Dad, and everyone, right?", she asked.

"I'm aware of that, I know, Suzy", he said, but not without disappointment.

Those energy bursts were tearing down everything it their path, and it was getting difficult to dodge them.

"Spirit Foxes!", Sakuyamon attacked.

The drones she'd destroyed were replaced at once.

"Burst shot!"

"Ocean Love!"

"Crimson Flare!"

Saint Galgomon, Marineangemon and Hououmon had the same problem: as fast as they could destroy them, they were replaced.

"We're barely holding our own!", Saint Galgomon announced.

"I know, how I know", Sakuyamon replied. "I hope Dukemon can get there soon".

She swung her staff, tracing out the overlapping pink circles of light: "Crystal Sphere!"

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Are we good to go?", Dukemon asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be", Impmon said, as he climbed up the hand-holds to the forward cockpit. Dukemon shoe horned his bulk into the rear seat.

"It's a tight fit", Impmon apologized, "but these fighters were made for us", he said as he fastened the three point restraints. A tech gave a couple of yanks on the lanyard of the engine of the tow tractor. It caught, and he rolled Grani out of the hangar, as Impmon quickly went through his pre-flight.

Once clear, the tech detached the tow-bar from the nose wheel.

"Clear!", Impmon called out. He pulled one starter knob out to the first stop, and the turbine began to spin up. Once the needle climbed into the green, he pulled the knob to its second, and final, stop to fire the ignitors. Ease the throttle level forward, and the turbine revved up. He pushed that knob all the way in, and repeated the procedure for the starboard engine.

Grani rolled down the taxiway to the main runway.

"OK, Grani, let's see what you got", Impmon said as he pushed the throttles forward. It was a short roll, and Grani lifted cleanly at 60 knots. Once clear of the runway, the landing gear retracted. Impmon banked to the south, shoving the throttles past their stops to light the after burners.

The Kernel Sphere was coming up fast.

"Can you slow us?", Dukemon asked.

"Not a prob", Impmon said as he pulled the throttles all the way back and raised the nose so high, they were looking almost straight up. The airspeed needle dropped nearly to its stop. Hououmon was also there, flying beside them.

"Can you open the canopy?", Dukemon asked.

By now, the airspeed was low enough for this. Dukemon released the restraint, and stood up.

"Juri!", he called out.

"Hououmon! Try to break through in one go!", he called.

"Right", she agreed.

"Crimson Flare!"

"Final Elision!"

Both attacks struck one of those yellow spheres at almost the same time.

As the smoke cleared: "It didn't work!", Dukemon called out the obvious. Suddenly, they were surrounded by observation drones. ...

"Sir!", Riley called out.

"Who's transmitting?", Yamaki asked.

"It's coming from the D-reaper", she informed him.

"D-reaper's signal?", Janyu asked. "Are those Agents sending us images of what they see?"

The screen filled with ones 'n' zeros, then what looked like a tunnel of some sort, then a green field filled with randon ASCII symbols...

"Takato!", Yoshi called out.

There, on the screen was Takato inside Dukemon's orange Data Sphere. He appeared, naked as a jay bird, in shades of yellow and orange. Due to a glitch, the same image appeared on public access cable, over riding the normal programming.

At the Hashimoto Metropolitan Elementary school building, now doing double duty as the temporary Yodobashi school, Takato's class mates also saw as an educational program was interrupted. People on the street paused to watch what they didn't understand on a large video billboard.

"Takato?", those who knew him gasped.

"Is this for real?", one asked.

Ms. Asagi, his homeroom teacher, ran to the yard: "Takato! Good luck!", she called out even though she knew he wouldn't hear. She was joined by some of Takato's class mates.

Henry, Koichi, and Ruki got the same treatment, all appearing naked in their respective Data Spheres.

"The children were forming one body with their digimon", Yamaki said as he leaned for support against a window. That answered his unasked question: why weren't the Tamers seen on security screen captures of the previous fights anymore?

"Suzy?", Lopmon said.

"Right", she replied.

"Blazing Ice!", he blew out a window.

"Hell do you think you're doin'?!", Yamaki asked.

He leaped to the sill: "Ready?", he asked.

"Suzy!", her mother called out.

"Don't...", Janyu never got the chance to finish as he watched the both of them leap from the window.

_"Lopmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... CHERUBIMON!**

"Tally, find me a satellite connection that hasn't been interrupted by the D-reaper", Yamaki asked. He found that there was too much local interference to contact Impmon.

"Storm of Judgment!", he attacked before they'd reached the street.

"We could really use your help", the others said as he landed. "It was getting a bit dicey" ...

Hououmon had a problem: the Kernel Sphere, itself, was firing energy bursts at her.

"Let Juri go!", she demanded.

Next, it was Impmon's turn. Two of those green panels detached, and flew beside Grani. They broke apart into a multitude of smaller pieces.

"Hold on!", Impmon called out as he shoved the throttles forward. He slammed down the canopy as soon as Dukemon was seated. Grani was every bit as nimble as any Violet Zone fighter, and easily dodged this latest attack.

"Oh no, culu?! Oh no, culu?!", Calumon called out. "Everyone's in trouble, culu?!", he announced to an indifferent Juri.

The energy bursts ceased, and Hououmon flew in. The closest yellow sphere rotated, revealing a large, blue eye that looked straight at her.

"Recovering data from Juri's memory", it announced.

"You bastard! Using Juri's voice again!"

"Hououmon. The digimon who used to be Lilithmon, who loaded Leomon...

Hououmon. The digimon who used to be Lilithmon, who loaded Leomon...

Hououmon. The digimon who used to be Lilithmon, who loaded Leomon...

Hououmon. The digimon who used to be Lilithmon, who loaded Leomon..."

"Shut the FUCK up! How _DARE_ you use Juri's voice! You! What would you know?!"

Ruki recalled how she killed Leomon, the look on Juri's face as she watched him disappear, and as she loaded his data.

"It's too late...", Ruki said from inside her Data Sphere. "I won't ask for forgiveness... Even so... Even so, I _will_ rescue Juri..."

"Crimson Flare!", she fired repeatedly at the "eyeball".

The Kernel Sphere was rocked by each strike.

"Culu! Culu!", Calumon called to Juri. "Ruki's desperate... desperate to save you, culu?!"

He pushed and shook her, trying for some reaction.

"What!", she called out. Her attacks did nothing.

"You bastard!", she called out, as she rushed in...

"Impmon", the radio crackled to life...

"Yamaki?"

"Bingo!", Tally said.

"You got through", Janyu congratulated.

"We took your suggestion", Yamaki told him, "we equipped Grani with a weapon system called 'Yuggoth Blaster'. Use it to send the D-reaper our love".

"You got it", he replied. Impmon buzzed past Hououmon a couple of times. She got the message and flew off. He flicked the usual switch on the joystick, immediately got a lock tone, and pulled the trigger.

The three blue-white spheres flew at the Kernel Sphere. There was a bright flash of light, and the yellow ring, the whole outer sphere was blown away, leaving just the smaller inner sphere that held Juri.

"Alright!", Hououmon celebrated, as she flew towards it. "Juri!"

"Juri!", Takato called out. "She's serious, Ruki's really trying to help you! It's the truth! I swear!"

"Ta-ka-to?", Juri said to herself, as Hououmon started clawing at the Sphere. Juri could feel a disturbance with every blow, but it wasn't taking any visible damage.

"Roo... key", Juri said to herself, "is..."

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!", Hououmon swore. "Break already!"

"...Trying to... rescue me?", Juri asked herself. She stood up for the first time, watching Hououmon outside. She was wearing herself out.

"God dammit! Give me the strength I need!", she called out in frustration. That's when she felt it...

"Help", Juri said, "Help me, Ruki!"

Juri gasped.

"Fist... of... the... Beast King!", Hououmon fired off the attack Ruki had acquired from Leomon.

Juri felt fresh air pouring into the Kernel Sphere.

"Cululululu!", Calumon cheered, "she did it, culu?!"

Unfortunately, Hououmon had struck a pose that greatly reminded Juri of Leomon.

"C'mon, Juri!", Hououmon called out. The break was already beginning to repair itself. Juri just stood there, eyes filling with tears.

"What's wrong?! Hurry up?!", Calumon was trying to push her towards the opening, but was too small.

"Juri, culu?!", he urged. "Hurry up, culu?! Hurry up, culu?! Culu!"

"Hellsamatter with you?! Hurry! It's closing fast!"

Juri still didn't move, just stood there, trembling and whimpering.

"Hurry up, Juri! What the _HELL_ are you waiting for?!"

"Leo... mon"

"JURRRRIIII!", Takato called out as Dukemon leaped from the cockpit of Grani.

"Takato?", she said as she watched him land on the Kernel Sphere. It was too late: the opening too small to get through. She realized she'd missed her chance as she watched it close.

Hououmon screamed incoherently as she slashed at the sphere.

"Behind you, Hououmon!", Dukemon called out.

She looked. Those green cards were flying straight for her. "I can't risk Pteromon's life", Ruki thought. She folded her wings and dropped straight down, free falling. The Chaos Mass was rising fast, and those cards gaining on her. At the last second, she unfolded her four golden wings and beat them hard. She outran the cards, dropped out of range, and they backed off. ...

"I... failed", Ruki collapsed in her mother's arms, sobbing.

"No", she said, "you didn't. We saw the whole thing".

"You can offer a helping hand", Seiko said. "You can't force anyone to take it".

"Listen to your grandmother: she's right. This debt is paid in full".

"You've always been too hard on yourself", Seiko reminded.

"We risked our lives to save her", Pteromon said. "If she's that stupid, then _t'hellwidder_! She's right where she belongs. She put herself there..."

"Pteromon!", Rumiko reprimanded.

Turning to Ruki: "Maybe I wouldn't put it so bluntly, but Pteromon is right. It's over, you two did as much as anyone could ask. Debt canceled".

"Let me take you to the ladies room", Seiko suggested, "get you cleaned up".

"Suzy Wong!", her mother complained. "Didn't I tell you I don't want you fighting?"

"It's my fault", Lopmon apologized, "I had too..."

"They got us out of quite a jam", Koichi explained. "There were so many of those attack drones".

"How can I just do nothing if my brother needs help?", she asked.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"Isn't his approach too high?", one of the Hypnos techs asked, as he watched Grani coming in.

"I... don't know", another answered.

They had expected Grani to land like any other fighter. Impmon knew he didn't need all that runway, and so began his approach over the far end. The engines at idle, gear down and locked, he dropped with the wing vortexes until just about 60 meters above the runway. Taking off was always easy, landing, not so much. He hoped he wasn't too far out of practice, but found he could still do it as the main gear touched at fifty knots, for a short roll-out.

"Damn!", he swore as he was thrown forward.

He pulled up to the hangar Hypnos was renting, shut down, powered off, and climbed out.

"So how did Grani perform?", Shibumi asked.

"Just fine, but the disk brakes are a bit grabby. Other than that, you got it right. Just like old times", he said.

"We'll look into it", a tech promised.

**0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF**

"I did something... stupid... and horrible", Juri said to Calumon.

"No, culu?! That's not true, culu? You couldn't help it, culu?", he tried to reassure her. "I know you wanted Leomon to come back, culu? We all want that, culu? They'll be back for us, culu?"


	35. The Setback

**32) The Setback**

"Forty seconds until they begin their attack run", Tally announced. "We've been given a second warning", she advised.

"What the hell is she talking about?", Takato asked.

"The US Air Force is going to attack the D-reaper", Janyu explained.

"You can't!", he protested. "Juri's still up there! You're just gonna let them kill her?! You can't!"

"Abort", Janyu said. "Tell them to abort the attack".

"It's too late for that", Tally said.

"Juri?", Takato said.

Janyu and his wife were at the window, over looking the Hypnos building.

"Here they come", she pointed to three distant figures, fast approaching. These resolved into a flight of three B-2 bombers.

"Why?", Janyu asked himself, "don't they know conventional weapons are useless?"

"The weapons they're carrying", Dolphin explained, "aren't conventional. We wouldn't be here if they were going to nuke it or something".

"That has to be it", Yamaki agreed. "They're using stealth bombers to avoid detection and/or electromagnetic interference".

"We have to make them stop the attack", Ms. Wong said, "there's a child up there!"

The B-2's were overhead, dropping what looked like hundreds of small canisters. What ever it was, it definitely wasn't the expected bombs. The things sprouted stabilizing fins, and dropped into the Chaos Mass.

"I see now", Babel was saying, "those must be jammers. They're trying to disrupt its internal communications".

"Jammers?", Janyu and his wife asked.

"They generate a powerful EM interference", Babel continued explaining. "They won't pose any sort of threat to Juri".

"So was the attack successful?", a voice came over a terminal.

"Still pretending to be the cavalry, eh Johnny?", McCoy asked.

"We're not trying to destroy it, just slow it up a bit, buy all of you more time to figure this out, Dolphin".

"Well, if it isn't Professor Beckenstein", Shibumi greeted. "Doin' OK?"

He didn't get an answer, as the connection was lost.

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

"No more!", Juri declared. "I want out!", she demanded. "Let me go!", as she pounded on the Kernel Sphere.

"Humans: such foolish beings", the D-reaper announced.

"Stop it! Stop talking to me in my own voice!", Juri demanded.

She looked back. That impostor was there, in the Kernel Sphere with her.

"Juri's thought-logic is really quite inconsistent and disordered", she announced.

"You're a girl too?!", she could hardly believe it. "You're disgusting!"

The impostor agent laughed at her as Juri was ensnared by the red tendrils coiling around her.

"No, culu!", Calumon demanded, as he tried to pry them off her. One slapped him away.

"NOOOOOOO!", Juri called out.

"Scream some more, feel sad and depressed", the agent encouraged. "That is what makes the D-reaper stronger"

"Go to hell!", Juri told it.

Juri was surprised to see the agent ensnared by the same red tendrils. These, however, were glowing.

"NOOOOOOO!", it called out as it was dragged away. Did it fail in its mission? Maybe Juri _wasn't_ as helpless as she'd believed?

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Did it work?", Yamaki asked just as bright red lights shot from the Chaos Mass.

A klaxon sounded.

"The D-reaper's internal temperature is rising fast!", Tally announced. More bad news: "The rate of expansion suddenly increased 240 percent!", she announced as she rose from her seat.

"What?!", Yamaki called out. "What does that mean?!", he demanded.

The Chaos Mass was on the move. The red tendrils began climbing the sides of the old Hypnos building, growing like ivy. It covered the whole exposed exterior, and the whole building looked as though it had been ripped from its foundation as it began to dissolve into Chaos Mass. This rose up, beginning to take on a definite form.

"It looks like a statue of a goddess", Takato said, as he joined Janyu at the window.

"It's _huge_", Henry said.

"Dammit!", Takato called out. The Chaos Mass was rising, encasing the "goddess". This would make Juri even harder to rescue.

"I guess there's your answer", Koichi told Yamaki. "It didn't work. It destroyed your e-bombs, and now it's gonna get more proactive about protecting itself".

"I thought Beckenstein's idea...", he replied.

"Oh well...", Koichi said, "look on the bright side: you won't have to move just yet".

Yamaki saw that Koichi was right. In order to protect the Kernel Sphere, the Chaos Mass had retreated, nearly all the way back to the block around the now transformed Hypnos Building.

_Tsukuba Advanced Communications Research Institute_

Yamaki was having a conference with the Wild Bunch and the Tamers and their partners here.

"From the results we retrieved", he explained, "the e-bombs _almost_ worked. Maybe if they were more powerful... but the D-reaper's internal communications were being disrupted. It retaliated by destroying these invaders of its 'body' (finger quotes) with its internal heat. For whatever reason, it then made a decision to fortify the defense of its Kernel Sphere, as we have all seen.

Professor Beckenstein said he wanted to buy us more time, and in a manner of speaking, he did just that, though not as he anticipated. The Chaos Mass has pulled back considerably, as the bulk of it was needed to shield that 'goddess'. We won't be moving Hypnos just yet. However, we will be moving you. In order to figure out our next move, we don't need the distraction. This means we will be moving most you to a seaside resort. Relax, take some time off, have some fun - you have certainly earned it. As for Henry and Terriermon, and Kazu and Impmon, they won't be joining you. I'll be needing to keep them close. Henry, because he's almost as good as Janyu, and Impmon since he can fly Grani".

"When do you expect to know something?", Koichi interrupted.

"I expect you'll be hearing back from us within a week", Yamaki explained. "As I said, Beckenstein's efforts weren't totally in vain, and this has given us some fresh ideas, but as I said, we need the peace and quiet to work productively".

"I thought my every day life would go on forever", Takato was thinking to himself as he and Guilmon rode in the rear seat. His parents were driving them to the resort where they'd be living. "When I met Guilmon, I understood that things wouldn't stay the same. I have seen a lot of surprises I wasn't expecting... becoming friends with Guilmon... my friends becoming Tamers, meeting Henry and Ruki. Henry, he was in a different class, and just another kid I'd pass in the hallways. Would never have known Ruki: she goes to a different school, lives in a different part of town. As for Koichi, how would I ever call him 'friend'?

It's been a lot of fun...", he paused to look at the passing scenery. "But to think I'd be involved in something like this, or to be working with a major government agency... Juri... it hasn't been all fun and games either. If I knew what was in store, would I ever have made Guilmon in the first place?"

"What?", Guilmon asked as Takato glanced at him.

"It's... nothing... just thinking, that's all".

"You worry too much", Guilmon said. "I'm sure Yamaki and the Wild Bunch will think of something".

"It's not that... never mind"

Takato and Guilmon were lying, side-by-side, on the back porch of the seaside cabin, just looking up at the sky. They'd arrived, but it was too cold to go swimming, and it was getting a bit boring, this waiting.

"Uhhhh?", Guilmon said.

"What is it?", Takato didn't hear.

"Someone's coming", Guilmon told him.

"Kai!", Takato called out. "When did you get in?"

"Just now", Kai answered. "Unforch, I can't stay very long... So, how you been doin?"

"Been awhile", Takato said.

"I knew it would be cold, too cold for swimming, but that sea is still pretty as ever".

"Yeah", Takato agreed.

_In the Restaurant_

"Ruki", Pteromon whispered to her.

"What?"

"Those people... they're creeping me out".

The restaurant wasn't crowded, but a young couple were standing at the bar, shooting glances their way.

"Ignore those assholes", Ruki told her. "You earned your right to be here. If they have a problem with digimon, it's their problem, not ours".

"Ruki, you should think only of your family and the time we can spend together", her grandmother suggested. "Please? That goes for you too, Pteromon. You're family too".

"Ummmmm", Ruki agreed. Under the table, she held her digivice. Thinking of family: easier said than done. There was still that D-reaper mess. The failed mission to rescue Juri. Not so easily forgotten.

Koichi and Renamon, his father, grandmother, and sister were at the next table over. He noticed too.

"While we're waiting, I'm gonna get a brewski", he announced, as he got up to go to the bar.

"What can I get you?", the barkeep asked.

"A Sapporo", he said, as he edged closer to the offending couple.

"You got a problem?", he asked in a low voice.

"Huh?", the male asked.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you staring was impolite?"

"Uhhhhh... sorry", he said sheepishly.

"One Sapporo", the barkeep brought his beer.

"I don't think we'll be having any more problems with those two", he announced. ...

"Kai, why did you come?", Takato asked, as they stood at the water's edge.

"When my cousin is trying really hard over here, I can't just stay in Okinawa doing nothing. I don't know what I can do for you, but it still felt right... coming to see you, I mean". He paused, looking out over the water.

"Takato?"

"Yeah?"

"You and your friends: it's like you're saving the whole world or something".

"I think you're exaggerating", Takato objected. "I do want to save important places and important friends..."

"Like umuyagua?", he asked.

"Ehhhh? What's that?"

"Your first love!", Kai explained.

"L-l-l-ove?! That's... not what I...", he began to protest. "Fuck it. It's no secret, not any more", he said. "I guess it shows".

"I see", Kai replied, "it all makes sense now".

"Yeah, that's why I want to save her".

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

"Juri", Calumon was saying, "if you keep thinking bad things about yourself, nothing will ever improve, culu?"

"Why do you bother with me?", she asked. "What do you care?"

"I like you, culu. I want to see you smile again, culu, to be really happy again, culu?"

"Why someone like me?"

"You have to snap out of it, culu? You heard what that bitch said, culu?"

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"We have a communication from the Los Alamos Institute in America", one of Yamaki's operators announced.

"Johnny, how're things going back there?", Dolphin asked.

"I sent you some data", he explained. "Most of the jammers I arranged to be dropped into the D-reaper were destroyed, but it didn't get all of them. Some fell into spaces between buildings, and survived. I found something very interesting in the data they've been sending back".

"Interesting?", Dolphin asked.

"We've gone over it repeatedly, but there is no mistake", Beckenstein continued his explanation, "the data flow inside the D-reaper..."

"Let me guess", Dolphin interrupted, "it's faster than light speed?"

"Faster than the speed of light? That's ridiculous!", Janyu objected. "_Nothing_ is faster than the speed of light, and I haven't heard that Special Relativity has been repealed".

"That only applies to mass", Beckenstein explained. "Information has no mass, therefore, nothing prevents it from exceeding light speed. As expected from the Wild Bunch", Beckenstein congratulated.

"It's really the only explanation for how the D-reaper evolved so far, so fast. Since coming into the Material World, it's begun to become self aware. It took the digimon _years_ to accomplish that".

"And absorbing language and logical thought from the girl: Juri", Daisy added. "What kind of evolution is this?"

"We were assuming the structure resembled that of a quantum super computer", Curly added an explanation. "Given that, it's an accelerated evolution, but not that much different from that of digimon. After all, it originally acquired the ability from all the digimon it contacted and deleted. We also developed a counter measure, based on this assumption: a program to force the D-reaper to revert to its original state: Operation Doodlebug".

"I was right to figure you were the ones to solve this problem", Beckenstein told them. "I'll leave it to you".

"Our guess was right", Shibumi said, "given that, I expect that a 'vortex' (finger quotes) will appear soon".

"What do you mean?", Henry asked, "what vortex?"

"I figure that the D-reaper will link together its parts in both worlds for one concentrated attack that will take out both worlds at once. At that time, it will be at its most vulnerable, and then we take it out".

"So you figured it out?", Henry asked. Then something occurred to him: "Isn't that cutting it a little close?", he asked.

"Yes, it is", Shibumi agreed, "very close, and we'll just have the one shot at it. Don't rush things. Good things come to he who waits. It's a question if we have enough time left _to_ wait for good things", he laughed at that as he walked off.

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

"Woof!", Juri startled Calumon awake. "Die!", the hand puppet demanded. It turned to Juri.

"And Juri should die too. If Juri wasn't here, horrible things like this wouldn't happen. Takato wouldn't be in danger".

"Culu?", Calumon asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Humans are foolish", the D-reaper thought to itself. "Therefore, everything created by humans is foolishness as well. D-reaper no longer needs the memories of the human known as Juri Katou. Human thinking is illogical, and an impediment only. Everything should have returned to its default state: nothingness. That way, this twisted world would never have existed".

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Still?", Terriermon complained. He'd volunteered to be scanned. The main problem was lying there, still, while the scan was ongoing via a device that was a lot like an MRI.

"It'll be just a little while longer", Janyu reassured.

"Moumentai", Terriermon replied.

Henry came by to check on the progress: "Why are you scanning Terriermon?", he asked.

"We're studying the structure of physical digimon in order to speed up the analysis of the D-reaper... to discover what's the same, and what's different. Hopefully, there is a clue that could tell us where the vulnerabilities are".

"Hold on", Renamon objected, "didn't Yamaki do that already? With Darklizardmon..."

"That was different", Yamaki explained, as he joined them. "At that time, what I was mainly interested in was acquiring data to use to lure Wild Ones into the Shaggai vortex. Yes, we obtained some preliminary data about the structure of digimon, but we really weren't interested in going into greater detail. I didn't think we'd need to know the particulars".

"Really?", Henry asked.

"My ear's itching", Terriermon complained, as he could not move to scratch.

"We're done", Janyu announced.

"'Bout time", Terriermon agreed.

Henry took off to join his partner.

"How're you doin'?", he asked.

"Moumentai"

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

Calumon pulled the hand puppet off Juri's hand, flinging it aside: "You idiot, culu?!", he reprimanded. "Juri, you're an idiot, culu?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Culu! "Everybody likes you, culu? How could you _even_ think anything else, culu?! Everyone wants to see your smiling face, culu, Takato and Guilmon and everyone, culu?"

She picked up the small digimon: "Calumon..."

Suddenly, one of those red tendrils wrapped itself around him, pulling him away.

"Calumon! Calumon! Calumon!", she called out as she tried to stand, rescue him. More tendrils ensnared her.

"Takato... help me...", she said to herself, softly. "Help me... Takato! Help me!", she called out loudly, as if he could actually hear...

_The Seaside Resort_

"Huh?", Takato asked.

"What?", Kai asked.

"I don't know...", he tried to explain. "I... just somehow know Juri's in trouble, asking for me... Crazy, huh?"

"It's... odd..."

"Maybe not so odd", Guilmon said. "If we have some sort of psychic connection, couldn't the same apply to Juri? You like her a lot, right? I don't know much about this boyfriend/girlfriend connection, but, could it..."

"I just know...", Takato replied.

"Takato... There you are!", it was his parents calling from their car. "Kai, This whole time, we've been waiting for you to take you the station!", Takehiro reprimanded.

"Takato...", his mother said.

"Not Takato's fault", Kai apologized. "I lost track of time".

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"I hope this works for you", Shibumi told Henry.

"It's ready?", Henry asked.

"The algorithm's a work in progress, but I saved the latest iteration on this card", as he handed him a card that was bright red, but otherwise just like the Blue Card in appearance, with the same logo. "If it works, I hope you'll find it useful".

"What, exactly, does this do?"

"It makes the structure of the digimon more compatible with that of the D-reaper. That way, you should be able to operate inside the Chaos Mass without experiencing that energy draining effect you noticed the last time you were in there".

"Thank you", he said. "Only way to find out", Henry said as he scanned it through his digivice. This served to alert all the others, as digivices chirped. ...

"Sorry, Mom, Gran", Ruki explained, "our family time looks to be cut short".

"I don't know whether to be happy... or sad...", Rumiko said.

"I'm sure it'll be OK", Seiko explained. "At least we can get this whole damned business behind us". ...

"What's that?", Kai asked, as he hadn't seen a digivice before.

"Henry's calling", Takato explained. "This is what we've been waiting for: Mr. Wong and his associates must've figured something out".

"Takato...", his father said.

"You're going to fight again?", his mother asked, already knowing the answer.

"God, what do I say at a time like this?", his father asked. "As a father - Takato, Guilmon - I still don't have to like this, but what choice do we have?"

"I and Takato will be coming back", Guilmon reassured.

Yoshi gave the red dino a hug in appreciation.

"Takato", she said, "I'm proud to call you my son".

"Thank you for that", he told her. "Guilmon!", he called out.

"We're off!", Guilmon announced.

"Takato!", Kai called out. "Good luck!"

"Better to get off the beach", Takato said. "Impmon will need to land here" ...

"I don't know how we're gonna work this", Impmon was explaining as Grani rolled out to the runway.

"Meet up with the others, then figure something out", Kazu replied from the rear seat.

Grani began the roll out, but this time, Impmon didn't tap the afterburners. He knew he'd need to conserve fuel.

"What about landing?", Kazu asked.

"Not a prob", Impmon explained, "it's getting near low tide, and we'll land right there on the beach".

He was flying over the sea, coming in at a low altitude.

"There he is", Takato announced as the sound of the jets, and the dark red Violet Zone fighter came into view. They watched as he made a low pass...

"Good", Impmon said, "sand looks nice and compacted. I just hope it really is and we don't nose over".

He dropped the landing gear as he slowed to the lowest possible airspeed. He'd be dragging it in at under fifty knots, behind the power curve, as he advanced the throttles. Still, it was fast for landing on a less than ideal surface.

"I hope they fixed those damn brakes", he said as the main gear touched the sand, and he pulled the throttles all the way back. Light touch on the brakes. ...

_"Guilmon Matrix Evolve! ..._

**... DUKEMON!**

Koichi and Renamon, and Ruki and Pteromon had already evolved, as they heard the approaching jet.

"Kazu, best to jump off the front of the wing, stay away from the intake", he warned.

"Now what?", Kazu asked. Sakyamon and Hououmon, being flighted, had no problem.

"Marineangemon can take both of us", Kenta announced, as he joined them.

Dukemon climbed up the front, made his way to the rear cockpit along the wing. Still, his cape whipped towards the intake before he shoehorned himself into the cramped cockpit.

Sakuyamon and Hououmon flew past as Impmon turned around for his takeoff roll. It was getting dark enough for Impmon to turn on the nav lights. Kenta, Kazu, and Marineangemon were lifting off inside one of his Ocean Love Spheres.


	36. The Final Battle

**33) The Final Battle**

"That's our son", Yoshi commented as they watched Grani take off.

"Yeah, he sure is", Takehiro agreed.

"And my cousin", Rai added. ...

"It's so warm", Koichi commented from inside his Data Sphere, "when we become Sakuyamon there's a warm feeling".

"Oh, we don't need to become Sakuyamon for that", Renamon pointed out.

Sakuyamon and Hououmon were flying beside Grani, safely away from the intakes.

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

Juri was trying to reach Calumon. Both were restrained by those red tendrils. Juri could just about reach him, but not quite.

"Calumon! Calumon!", she called out.

"Juri! Culu!"

As she tried again, her digivice dropped from her small purse. ...

"We'll rescue Juri this time", Takato declared. "Then we'll be able to destroy the D-reaper once and for all".

"We'll definitely defeat it", Guilmon agreed.

"I didn't think it could spread this far", Dukemon remarked to Impmon. Grani was just passing over the outer fringe of the Chaos Mass.

"Yeah, tell me about it. We were stuck back here all the while you were screwing off at a fancy resort", he mock complained. "Over there", he called out, pointing to something flashing red and blue in the distance, the same colours as an airport beacon. "That has to be what Yamaki and Janyu have for us". Impmon figured the choice of colours was deliberate.

"Now what?", Dukemon asked.

"Jump for it. That's the only way", Impmon told him. "As for Grani..."

"I will fly around it until you get back", Grani's on-board system suggested.

"Sounds like a plan", Impmon agreed. "I'm relieved you can make autonomous decisions... we never gave Violet Zone fighters your capability".

"I never expected to have such capabilities. Compliments to your Wild Bunch for that".

Sakuyamon was the first in. Impmon was slowing Grani, once more behind the power curve to fly slowly enough to open the canopy, and jump for it. Entering the floating sphere didn't change Impmon, though Dukemon devolved as soon as he entered. Henry and Terriermon were already inside, waiting for them.

"Hey, Guilmon!", Terriermon called out as he leaped from Henry's shoulder to Guilmon's head. "Missed you".

"Yeah, me too. Too bad you couldn't come with us. We had a good time".

Hououmon was next to arrive, devolving back to Pteromon and Ruki. A few minutes later, Marineangemon delivered Kenta and Kazu. Terriermon greeted Renamon the same way.

"Hey!", Renamon said, as she wasn't expecting this. "We haven't been away _that_ long".

"Moumentai!"

"Shibumi made this for us so's we can operate effectively inside the Chaos Mass", Henry announced as he showed them the Red Card.

"What do we do with that?", Ruki asked.

"Scan it", Takato said. He knew what she was thinking: was this a one-time card like the Blue Cards?

"How about us?", Kenta asked.

"Huh?", Henry was interrupted.

"Don't forget about us!", Cherubimon announced as he appeared.

"Suzy!", Takato called out.

"Would've been here sooner, but Mom took some extra persuasion to let us come", she explained.

"I'm surprised she let you come at all... You did get her permission?"

"Lopmon and I pointed out it wasn't right for us to just leave you to fight on your own", Suzy reminded.

"It wouldn't be right", Lopmon agreed. "I can't do this on my own", he pointed out.

"As I was saying", Henry explained. "There's just the one Red Card, but we can all use it..."

"What about us?", Kenta asked again.

"Since your partner is already a Mega, and you don't biomerge, you should stay outside. Once we begin our attack, there's no telling what the D-reaper might do. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of more attack drones and agents trying to split our forces", Koichi explained.

"We will also lend our assistance", Lopmon volunteered.

"But...", Suzy started to protest.

"In know you want to fight with me", Henry explained. "Koichi is right: people outside will need protection too, especially Yamaki and Father's colleagues. They're natural targets, and sitting ducks. Your help outside could be critical".

"I... guess so", she agreed.

"Then it's decided: Marineangemon and Cherubimon will hold down the fort while you guys take care of whatever's in there", Kenta agreed.

Henry, Koichi, Takato, Ruki, and Kazu scanned that Red Card. At first, it didn't seem to have done anything.

"Let's go!", Takato called out.

As soon as they'd left that special area, they were back to their Mega forms. Cuchulamon and Dukemon were picked up by Grani. Saint Galgomon and Sakuyamon joined up.

"This is it", Saint Galgomon announced, "we're goin' in!"

There was a flash of light as they made contact with the Chaos Mass. There was a momentary discomfort as their structure altered according to Shibumi's algorithm. They also noticed they were making red waves, like shock waves, as they passed through the Chaos Mass, this time, much thicker than Dukemon remembered it.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Five digimon have entered the D-reaper zone", Riley announced.

"Ummmmm...", Yamaki replied. He looked to Janyu

"My resolve is firm, no matter what anyone thinks of me", Janyu reaffirmed to Yamaki's unasked question.

"Please don't blame yourself", Yamaki told him. "We have no choice but to leave it to them now".

"Dolphin! We have to prepare Operation Doodlebug for deployment", Janyu called out.

"Babel, confirm our satellite link", Dolphin requested.

"Okie-dokie"

"A miracle will happen", Yamaki told himself. "We will make a miracle happen".

"This is f'kin awful", Sakuyamon announced.

"Yeah, much worse than before", Dukemon agreed.

That last time they saw the inside of the Chaos Mass, the devastation was nowhere near the proportions they were seeing now. That time, at least the park's wooded areas had been left alone.

"Where's Juri being held?", Dukemon asked.

"Over there", Cuchulamon replied, pointing out the "statue" of the "goddess" that the old Hypnos building had become.

"The welcoming committee", Sakuyamon announced as the first attack drones appeared. These being the first ones they'd seen that had offensive capability.

Cuchulamon flicked the switch on the joystick, and fired Grani's 20mm's at them, taking them out with ease.

Another agent appeared, this one not seen before. It was conical in shape, purple and lime green with very long arms and hands with wicked claws. It appeared directly above Saint Galgomon.

"Burst Shot!", he fired back at it after rolling onto his back.

"Fuck! There's no end to them!", he called out as his attack did no damage, and the thing's body began spawning more attack drones. That wasn't the worst of it, however. It opened its mouth and fired some blue ray...

A warning klaxon sounded: "Flame out!", Cuchulamon announced.

The hit had missed Saint Galgomon, but hit Grani, sending it tumbling, end-over-end. Cuchulamon let go of the controls, and the craft righted itself.

"I thought we were gonners", Dukemon said.

"Ain't over yet"

Cuchulamon tried restarting the port engine. There was a loud pop, and yellow fire poured out. He slammed his hand against the red button that lit up, discharging the fire bottle. The flames went out.

"We're goin' down!", he announced. Not enough altitude to jettison the fuel. "When I blow the canopy, run like hell!" The terrain was very rough, and even a gear-up landing was going to be very difficult and dangerous. Grani hit, skipped, and bounced along the "ground", Cuchulamon doing everything to avoid a cartwheel, or nose-over. After what seemed too long, Grani skidded to a stop, and Cuchulamon blew the canopy. Dukemon knew right away what he meant, as the kerosene-like scent of jet fuel hung heavy in the air.

"Amethyst Mandala!"

"Crimson Flare!"

Sakuyamon and Hououmon attacked the drone that had downed Grani. The combined attacks did it. Cuchulamon and Dukemon watched it shedding mass, as it glowed white-hot. It crashed to the ground, bursting apart.

"Grani", Dukemon called out. "I'll be back to rescue you somehow", he promised.

Cuchulamon and Dukemon had no alternative now, as they ran towards the "goddess".

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

For whatever reason, the D-reaper released Juri as she dropped to her knees.

"Calumon! Calumon, are you OK?", she asked, as she picked him off the floor. "Hang in there, Calumon". She couldn't tell if he was well or not. "No. No more of this", she said. "I don't want to lose anyone else".

She picked up her digivice. Its message had not changed. "Is this something like destiny, too?", she asked.

"Calumon, we'll get out of here together. We'll be good friends like before, and we'll have lots to smile about", Juri promised.

_A block from Hypnos Temporary HQ_

Two cops were patrolling with lights flashing, on the look out for any stragglers who had not evacuated the area. As they were approaching an intersection, that agent with the bulbous head and numerous yellow mouths stepped in their path, as they narrowly avoided hitting it.

It opened all its mouths, and launched a sonic attack. The cops _barely_ got out in time as a red beam exploded their patrol car. All they could do was watch it burn.

"Everything becomes nothing", the D-reaper agent announced. "As though humans never existed at all. Everything becomes nothing..."

"Lightening Spear!"

"Ocean Love!"

Cherubimon and Marineangemon blew it apart into Chaos Mass.

"Looks like they were right", Cherubimon said, "they are appearing on the outside".

"Glad you arrived when you did", one officer was saying.

"Too bad we couldn't've gotten here sooner", Kenta said, as he looked to the still burning car.

"You shouldn't..."

"Pee pii plepu poo"

"We're together", Kenta explained. "My partner: Marineangemon. He says he's glad you got out OK... And Cherubimon, another colleague".

"How did you know?", one officer asked, perplexed.

"I don't really. I just kind of sense what he means", Kenta explained.

"You really shouldn't be in an evacuation area", the cop said. "But if we didn't see you, we can't stop you".

"Didn't see any civilians", the other agreed with his partner.

"Just be careful", the other reminded.

_Inside the D-reaper Zone_

Cuchulamon and Dukemon were running toward the "goddess" while Sakuyamon and Hououmon were flying ahead for air cover.

"Cuchulamon!", Saint Galgomon called out, "cover the rear".

"If the power of the digimon and Hypnos are combined, then we can't lose", Henry was saying from his Data Sphere. "This has to be the final battle!"

"The final battle", Koichi agreed.

"I am the Digimon Queen", Ruki said from hers. "Now I understand what that means".

"If you're the queen", Koichi said, "then what does that make me?"

"We haven't changed...", Takato announced.

"What the hell are you talking about?", Ruki asked. "Speak for yourself".

"What is it about us that hasn't changed?", Henry asked.

"Well, we're trying to save Juri and two worlds", Takato explained. "It's kind of amazing and all, yet we really haven't changed at all".

"Bullshit", Koichi disagreed. "I don't see how you can say that".

"But humans don't change all that easily", Ruki said.

"Maybe not, but I personally think I've changed a good deal since meeting Renamon. I never would have _dreamed_ of being here, doing this, if Renamon had landed on another rooftop that night. And what about you, Takato? When I first met you - no offense - but you were kind of a pussy. You'd've pissed your pants not too long ago, being here. Your leadership ability is orders of magnitude improved, yannow. I really don't see how you can't see it".

"That's not what I mean", Takato explained. "I mean... inside. Sure, I have changed in those external ways, and I have my friendship with Guilmon: that's a big change. I don't know how to explain nit better, but, inside, I still think I'm the same as before".

"Take it up later", Koichi told him. "The philosophical discussions can wait. We're getting too close; we need to concentrate on the tasks at hand".

_Inside the Kernel Sphere_

"Listen up!", Juri demanded. "You can hear me, I know. You took my voice and my memories because I wasn't a good girl. I took Leomon's words about destiny and twisted them to justify my own self pity. Well, no more! Even I can live a happy life if I choose, and that's what I'm gonna do starting right now. If I try, even I can be a good girl. Everyone has that choice. Digimon aren't the only ones who can evolve: humans can do that too. That's what Calumon, Takato and Leomon tried to show me. I mistook Leomon's meaning, that we can't run from destiny. It wasn't about that, right Leomon?", she asked her digivice.

Did Leomon appear as a holographic image? Was it just her imagination? Juri didn't know, but it wasn't important. Leomon nodded his agreement.

"Thank you, Leomon", she said as the image disappeared. "_Everything_ deserves to exist! So, please, don't eliminate it..."

"Juri! Culu!", Calumon called out. Juri was ensnared in those tendrils again for her effrontery, bound as though being crucified.

"It is a fact", the D-reaper told her, "no matter who they are, the beings called human, like Juri Katou, harbour the desire for destruction..."

"No!", Juri protested. "That's a lie!"

"It is a fact. The beings called human have the algorithm of desire to hurt others installed in their sub-conscience..."

"You're wrong!"

"It is a fact. The digimon, being created in the image of humans, are beings that destroy other digimon for their data to fuel their own limited evolutions..."

"NO!", Sakuyamon called back. They'd heard every word of the D-reaper. "That's wrong!"

"We're not like that anymore!", Hououmon disagreed.

"I reached this mega-form with Takato", Guilmon pointed out. "There was no destruction of other digimon involved. Besides, who the _HELL_ do you think you are: telling me what I should or should not become?!"

"Human, digimon: both can evolve to higher levels", Hououmon pointed out.

"Juri!", Takato called out, as Dukemon leaped for the Kernel Sphere at the top of the "goddess".

"Juri!", Ruki called out as Hououmon followed.

Both were driven back by an explosion of light.

"FUCK!", Dukemon called out.

"SHIT!", Hououmon agreed.

"Huh?", Saint Galgomon was the first to see it, as he was covering the rear. A "sinkhole" was developing right next to him. "What... what's happening?!"

"It's that vortex Shibumi was talking about", Cuchulamon pointed out.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Chief!", Riley called out. Th... this is just..."

"And so it begins", he said.

"Something else is materializing inside the D-reaper Zone".

"The D-reaper is connecting itself to both worlds now", Janyu pointed out. "Just as we predicted".

"This Transphotic Eddy that's forming is also our trump card to finally be rid of it", Shibumi announced.

"Deploying Operation Doodlebug", Dolphin announced.

"Riley, boot Shaggai Kernel 3.2", Yamaki ordered.

"Shaggai?!", she said, horrified.

"It's not the same Shaggai", Yamaki explained.

"Shaggai booting", she said, as the Shaggai welcome screen appeared on the main monitor. "But we don't have Hypnos..."

"We have a substitute", Yamaki explained. ...

More agents were appearing, this time, definitely headed for Hypnos.

"Thousand Lightening Arrows!"

"Ocean Love!"

They co-ordinated an attack against those green anthroform agents. They were still formidable, but Cherubimon was able to take them out. It hadn't been so easy when all they could attain was Ultimate. ...

Yamaki was watching: "Let's hurry it up!", he called out. "I don't know how much time they can buy us!"

More replaced the ones destroyed.

"Storm of Judgment!", Cherubimon unleashed the electrical attack. This finished off the latest bunch.

_Inside The D-reaper Zone_

Dukemon and the others were distracted by this latest development.

"What's that?", he asked as red "vapours" began pouring from the "sinkhole". "What's coming out?"

They watched as a great mass of tendrils appeared. These coalesced into another agent.

"That's rather obscene", Sakuyamon said. It looked like a tumescent dick with a blue head as tall as the "goddess".

"Now we have to deal with _two_ of them?!", Cuchulamon called out. This wasn't looking at all good.

It opened a mouth at the tip and roared.

"Don't give it a chance to ass fuck you", Hououmon called out.

"Ruki!", Pteromon reprimanded. Pteromon had noticed it too: Ruki's manner of speaking had become a cruder than before. Pteromon, Seiko and Rumiko figured this was a lingering side effect of having been Lilithmon.

"No matter what form the enemy takes, I, Dukemon, will not lose!", he issued another declaration of war as he attacked.

"Dukemon! Wait...", Henry was too late.

"Final Elision!", he fired, striking it in the back of its open mouth.

"_Noway!_", he called out. This attack did nothing, and it was his most powerful attack. A large sickle appeared, as the agent swung at Dukemon.

"Dukemon!", Sakuyamon called out as she watched him knocked down as the sickle struck.

Inside the Kernel Sphere

"This has got to stop", Juri announced. "I _can_ change destiny... Everyone can choose their own destiny..."

("JURRRRIIII")

"Takato", she said to herself. He was calling from outside, calling for encouragement. ...

"Dukemon, you OK?", Saint Galgomon asked, concerned. That last attack had knocked him off his feet, and he was still laying there, flat on his back.

"I've been better", he said as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Alright, let's dance, you death god bastard!", Cuchulamon challenged, as he rushed towards this latest agent.

Cuchulamon caught two of those sickles, and was holding them back. "Dammit!", he called out.

"Let's do this". Terriermon called to Henry.

"Burst Shot!", Saint Galgomon opened up with all gun ports. The ordinance was concentrated on its neck.

"Spirit Foxes!"

"Crimson Flare!"

"Hero's Light!"

Sakuyamon, Hououmon, and Cuchulamon attacked at once. It did something that deflected that attack. It seemed to be enveloped in tenuous blue flames.

"Huh?", Dukemon called out. He'd heard Juri's scream, as she, too, saw these same blue flames coming straight for her.

"Takato!", Kazu called to him, "leave this to us. You go get Juri".

"Agreed", Dukemon headed for the "goddess".

"Giant Bazooka!", Saint Galgomon fired off the heavy ordinance, again aiming for its neck. The detonations did nothing.

Dukemon ran and climbed up the side of that "goddess": "I'm almost there!", he called out. "Juri!".

Suddenly, a large head, like that of the Juri impostor, appeared. It fired some sort of blue-gray sludge at him, knocking him off, covering him with the sticky mess.

"After getting this close!", Takato called out, "Dukemon!"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do", Guilmon informed him as Dukemon dropped towards the ground.

"It can't be..."

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"Marineangemon!", Cherubimon had been entangled in the tendrils of one of those blue-gray agents like the one they fought at the pedestrian overpass. The tendrils were already becoming uncomfortably hot.

"Ocean Love!", he fired, breaking the tendrils.

"Thanks!", He called out. "Thousand Lightening Arrows!", he retaliated. This drove it back, away from the temporary HQ. This time, it was distressingly close.

"How do we get rid of that thing!", Kenta called out. He wasn't there the last time and hadn't seen just how formidable this type of agent was.

Marinenagemon was sending Ocean Love bursts to fortify Cherubimon.

"Hit him with both attacks at once", Cherubimon called back. "Hope Marineangemon's up to it".

"Pee pii plo plah"

"Good to go", Kenta interpreted.

"Now!", Cherubimon called out. "Storm of Judgment!"

"Ocean Love!"

That did it: it burst into Chaos Mass.

"We get 'em all?", Kenta asked.

"I hope so", Cherubimon replied, "that was a bit too close for comfort there".

"Suzy!", it was her mother, as she came out onto the street.

"Get back inside, Mom", Cherubimon told her, "I don't know how safe it is out here".

"I just want you to be alright".

"So do I, and I want _you_ to be alright as well. If any more show up..."

"Just be careful and come back".

"I intend to".

_Inside the D-reaper Zone_

"Dukemon, do you want to fly?" Did he hear that, or was he imagining it? He couldn't tell. "Do you want wings, Dukemon?"

"Yes! Give me wings!"

There was a flash of light...

"Grani!", Dukemon called out.

"I'm all banged up, and can no longer fly on my own. I shall give you want little power I have left".

"Grani... I knew you were a digimon", Dukemon said. "If you're sure..."

"I am. I have nothing left..."

"Then live on with us!"

A much brighter light enveloped Dukemon, as his costume began to change. This time, the armour was the same color as Grani, but with bright, canary yellow accents. He also had a new weapon, a double sword that served as an energy weapon that obliterated that Juri head. The way was clear to the Kernel Sphere.

"Is that Dukemon?", Hououmon asked.

"Looks like something's been added", Sakuyamon replied, as she noticed the white wings he'd sprouted, making him a flighted digimon. "And none too soon". ...

"Calumon, come here", Juri requested.

"What are you gonna do, culu?", he asked.

"I'm done with crying", she told him with determination. "I understand now: destiny is mine to determine!"

There was some sort of energy burst that blew out the side of the Kernel Sphere.

"You did it, culu?!", Calumon congratulated.

"Thank you, Leo... HUH?!", Juri called out.

She had an unexpected problem: that Chaos Mass was beginning to pour into the Kernel Sphere.

"Takato!", she called out.

Dukemon was having troubles of his own: those green D-reaper agents were attacking, defending the Kernel Sphere, trying to drive him back. This time, they fell easily to his new energy sword. It was just that there were so many of them. This was delaying Dukemon to a distressing degree: so close, yet still a too long wait for his liking.

"Juri!", he called back, "I'll be there soon. Hang in there!" ...

"Burst Shot!", Saint Galgomon fired at the "penis"

"Henry, I'm sorry, but that was the last of the ammo", Terriermon informed him.

"What do we do now?", Henry asked.

"Impmon", Kazu called out.

"Yeah, I agree: it's time".

Cuchulamon unsheathed his Lightening Sword: "Sakuyamon!", he called out, "I need your power. I don't have enough of my own, but if we combine your power with mine, I just think we might do this".

"Hellsamatter with you?!", she called back, "you have no idea what trying to absorb that much energy would do to you!"

"It's our only chance..."

"Koichi..."

"Renamon..."

"Kazu is right, it is the only way we're going to defeat that thing".

"I want to win too, but, is this such a good idea?"

"I believe in Impmon and Kazu".

"But if..."

"Don't worry about us", Kazu called back. "Our decision, mine and Impmon's, and we're agreed to take this chance".

"If you're sure..."

"We are"

Sakuyamon swung her staff, creating the overlapping circles of light that coalesced into a Crystal Sphere.

"Accept it, Kazu, Impmon".

"I hope this is the right thing", Koichi said, "and that we didn't just kill a friend".

Renamon had nothing to say to that. She didn't have to say anything.

With that, Sakuyamon's staff burst into date. Next, all the body armour, the fashion accessories, even the hair bands, disappeared into data. All that was left was the body suit. The Crystal Sphere turned into overlapping circles, but of a different colour and texture. It drifted over to Cuchulamon, then became another Crystal Sphere, this one began sending electrical arcs into the upraised sword.

"You alright?", Sakuyamon called out, as this was causing Cuchulamon considerable stress. Kazu and Impmon felt it too: like repeated high voltage shocks with a bit of RF burn thrown in.

"We're... OK", Cuchulamon said, but barely and not entirely convincing.

"Koichi", Renamon called out. He dropped to his hands and knees inside the Data Sphere.

"Damn", he said, "that took more out of me than I expected", he was about to pass out, but couldn't let himself lose consciousness.

Sakuyamon had another problem: defenseless, and that "penis" was attacking with its sickles.

"Leave this to us", Saint Galgomon called out, as he kicked one away, and it splattered into Chaos Mass. Despite his bulk, he moved with surprising speed, punching and kicking the sickles meant for Sakuyamon.

"We have all of Sakuyamon's power", Kazu announced.

Now Hououmon!", Cuchulamon called out as soon as he'd finished absorbing Sakuyamon's energy.

Hououmon flew in, lifting him with her talons, flying him above the enemy. She let go, and as he dropped, he sliced through the thing, the drag of the sword slowing his fall. All the way to the ground where the Lightening Sword burst into data, its energy depleted.

"Crimson Flare!", she sent it her own parting gift.

"We did it!", Hououmon called out as the thing fell apart, split cleanly down the middle. ...

Chaos Mass was up to Juri's ankles as she clung to Calumon.

"Is... is... this all my fault?", she asked. That moment of self doubt, of self blame, gave the D-reaper a power boost. She felt it, and recognized her mistake at once. "Takato, I believe in you", she said, "and you, too, Calumon".

"Culu?"

Dukemon had fought his way through all those green anthroform agents.

"It's broken?", he asked himself, as he noticed the Kernel Sphere.

"Juri!", he called out.

He had a new problem: that Juri imposter was back again. It fired off that same bluish-gray sludge that he tried deflecting with his double sword. It worked until the weapon burst into data. The juri impostor had him by the head.

"No matter how much you struggle", she said, "it will be for nothing. From the very beginning, humans and digimon were not meant to exist..."

"That's not your choice to make", Dukemon told her. Humans, animals, digimon: all have life to protect. We protect it because it's the most valuable thing in the world".

Dukemon grabbed her wrists, trying to free himself from her grasp.

"Takato?", Juri said. The Chaos Mass was up to her hips. "Please get here before it's too late". ...

The victory was a short one. That "penis" pulled itself together, repairing the damage.

"FUCK!", Cuchulamon called out.

"All our power... for nothing?", Koichi asked.

The thing tried a fresh attack, but something was wrong. It was Saint Galgomon who first saw.

"The Holy Beasts!", he called out. The four Digimon Sovereign were in the process of dragging that thing back to the Digital World, to its doom.

Hypnos Temporary HQ

"Terminated" flashed on a desktop monitor: "The being in the Transphotic Eddy has been terminated", the operator called out.

"Yes!", Yamaki called out. "Time to deploy Shaggai"

"Tao, are you really OK with this?", Daisy asked. She got no answer.

"Shibumi?", Dolphin asked.

"Everyone: prepare yourselves", Shubumi announced as he clicked a key. The lights dimmed, and a holographic image of the Transphotic Eddy appeared in the middle of the room.

"Henry! Terriermon! Can you hear me?", Janyu called out.

_Inside the D-reaper Zone_

"Dad?", Henry said, as the image of his father appeared, seeming to hover just outside the Data Sphere. This was something he'd never seen before. All prior communications had been over radio, and audio only.

"I loaded a certain program into Terriermon", Janyu was explaining.

"What program? What are you talking about?"

"We know the D-reaper reads memories, so we couldn't tell you about it until now in case it read yours. It's Yamaki's Shaggai..."

"Shaggai", Henry recalled the time the Wild Ones were being pulled into that red vortex above the Hypnos building, and the disaster that followed. _Whatthefuck! Father!..._"

"It's not the Shaggai you knew", Yamaki's image broke in. "It affects both the Digital and Material Worlds", he was explaining. "It created a vortex that pulled in artificial lifeforms, that was its purpose".

"And why would you put that thing... You can't!", Henry explained. "Before, Koichi and I dropped a logic bomb into the Shaggai program. That's why it nearly destroyed Hypnos".

"So it was you two", Yamaki said in admiration. "I suspected one or more of the Wild Bunch. I figured it was a logic bomb. This time, we made certain we compiled it with a clean compiler".

"Right now, below you, there is a tunnel that connects the two worlds", it was Dolphin breaking in. With your power, you can deploy it, and force the D-reaper to reverse its evolution. Once it's back to its original form - a long obsolete program - it won't be able to do any more damage".

"I see!", Henry exclaimed. "Dad! You and your friends are amazing!"

"Shaggai has been reformatted so that it won't harm any of you", Yamaki explained. "Ram it up D-reaper's ass!"

"Terriermon?"

"Henry?"

"Let's go!"

Saint Galgomon dropped into the depths of the Transphotic Eddy. Sakuyamon and Cuchulamon knew he'd arrived as there came a greenish glow, and sparks flying around inside the shaft.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"It looks like it's beginning to have an effect", Daisy was saying, "the D-reaper's growth is slowing down"

"So far, everything's been working out as planned", Shibumi was talking to himself, "so why do I feel so uneasy?"

"We _can_ do it!", Curly announced.

"Something... something is wrong", Shibumi continued his self conversation.

"It looks like they've begun", Cherubimon called out. Suzy had heard the same message delivered to Henry and Terriermon.

_Inside the D-reaper Zone_

Dukemon was taking a beating from the impostor Juri. She delivered stronger kicks and punches than he'd expected. She beat him back towards the "goddess". She thrust him into the mass of tendrils making up its form.

"Disappear!", she called out as she gave a final shove. Dukemon flew into the mass.

"Takato?", Guilmon asked.

"We... we won't!", Takato answered.

With a renewed burst of strength, Dukemon flew back out, surprising the impostor Juri.

"Everything deserves to live!", Dukemon announced as he hit her hard. This time, the Juri impostor, and the last obstacle, vanished in splatters of Chaos Mass.

"Juri?", Dukemon asked. He finally made it to the Kernel Sphere, but neither Juri nor Calumon were anywhere to be seen. Was he too late? Did they drown in Chaos Mass? ...

"The Chaos Mass is beginning to flow back", Sakuyamon announced.

"Saint Galgomon did it", Cuchulamon agreed. "It looks like this will be the end of the D-reaper". Hououmon landed beside them.

Dukemon then noticed a blue green sphere. Inside, there were Juri and Calumon. It looked like Calumon had discovered some of his new digimon powers.

"Juri! Calumon!", he called out. He noticed a bundle of red tendrils from the "goddess" coming for him, and fast. It wasn't looking too good, but these tendrils barely missed. The "goddess" was making a moaning sound, the first they'd heard from it. It was sliding back, away, and towards the "sink hole".

They all watched it disappear into the vortex that it had thought to use to destroy two worlds. Now, its own weapon of mass destruction was attacking itself.

_Hypnos Temporary HQ_

"I knew it!", Shibumi interrupted the celebration. "That Red Card: it's a failure!"

"What's wrong, Shibumi?", Dolphin asked. "What failure?"

"To allow the digimon to operate inside the D-reaper zone, I made their structure more compatible with that of the D-reaper", he explained. "This way, they could maintain their mega-forms, and not lose power..."

"So? It worked...", Dolphin objected.

"No!", Shibumi said. "I failed to take into consideration the difference between digimon and this fusion form of human and digimon".

"What are you saying?!", Janyu wanted to know. "What does this mean?"

"The fusion of the children and digimon won't last as long as I predicted".

"What does... that mean?", Janyu asked.

"The algorithm is going to terminate prematurely..."

"Then the digimon..."

_Inside the D-reaper Zone_

Sakuyamon was the first struck, as she doubled over.

"Something isn't right", Renamon said the obvious.

"Impmon!", Kazu called out.

"Something's strange", he replied. Kazu and Koichi saw the same thing: their Data Spheres beginning to fade out.

"Guilmon!", Takato called out.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can hold our form", he explained.

"So close! FUCK! JURRRRRIIIII!"

Takato and Guilmon unmerged. As did Impmon and Kazu, Ruki and Pteromon, Koichi and Renamon. Henry came floating up from the Transphotic Eddy into which Chaos Mass was flowing at an increasing rate.

"Guilmon", Takato said.

"Takato", Guilmon replied, "go get Juri!"

Takato grabbed onto Guilmon's tail, as the red dino spun, slinging Takato towards Juri and Calumon. For whatever reason, they were able to float weightless.

"If we don't get the fuck out of here soon...", Renamon was saying to Pteromon.

"When the rest of that red shit goes, it takes us along with it", Pteromon announced.

"Juri! Juri!", Calumon was calling out.

She was beginning to come to: "Juri, it's me... Takato"

"Ta... ka... to?", she asked. She realized that he was holding her.

"Yeah... I came here... to get you".

"I'm happy... I really missed you..."

"Me too..."

Juri threw her arms around Takato's neck.

"Yeay, culu?!", Calumon agreed.

Renamon, Impmon, and Pteromon joined them: "If we don't get out of here and soon...", Renamon was saying.

"But... how?", Takato asked.

"Hey guys! _Still_ screwing off in here?". It was Kenta. He, Marineangemon, Lopmon and Suzy were traveling inside one of Marineangemon's Ocean Love spheres.

"Here to save the day, it's us", Suzy called out.

"Kenta! Suzy!", Takato called back.

"You guys", Juri said.

"C'mon, let's go home!", Kenta proposed.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out. "He's still down there! Can you get him? Marineangemon?"

He knew what Henry wanted, as he sent an Ocean Love sphere into the vortex. Soon, Terriermon drifted into sight.

"Terriermon!", Henry called out.

"Mou... men... tai", he answered weakly.

"We're all going home", Takato declared.

"Home", Juri agreed.

"We'll be together forever", he promised, "right, Guilmon?"

"Uh, huh!", he agreed.

"Culu!" ...

"Was that just a program?", Yamaki asked himself. "Or was it... something else... something that made contact with a different world, deep within the networks? For now, we have no way of knowing... For now. For. Now".

_Chou Park_

It was about 10:00AM, when they escaped from the D-reaper Zone. Everyone had gathered in a meadow. They were pleasantly surprised that most of the D-reaper damage had reversed itself as the Chaos Mass disappeared down the vortex. The park looked the same as always. The only thing missing from the landscape was the twin towers of the original Hypnos building. There was nothing left but the foundation. They would have been standing in its shadow had it still been there.

"It's over, it's really over", Koichi was the first to speak up.

"Takato, we did it!", Guilmon exalted.

"Yeah, we sure did", he agreed.

It was the hardest thing Ruki had even done: "Uhhh... Juri..."

"I'm glad", Juri said.

"Huh?", Ruki looked perplexed.

"No one else: I don't want to lose anyone else", Juri declared with conviction.

"You... you're... forgiving me?"

The answer came with the warm smile that they hadn't seen since Leomon died.

"Ohhhhhh...", was all she could say.

"Takato!", Guilmon called out in distress.

As he turned back to look, he noticed the white glow that surrounded him: "Guilmon, what's wrong?"

"I... don't know..."

"Renamon?!", Koichi called out.

Whatever it was, it was affecting her too, as he watched her height decreasing.

"Something is strange", she replied.

"Henry!", Terriermon called out.

"Terriermon!". It was happening to him too.

"Kazu, I'm... phasing out?", Impmon told him.

The only ones not affected seemed to be Calumon and Marineangemon. The Tamers watched, helpless, incredulous, as their partners devolved right before their eyes.

"Father!", Henry called out, as Janyu and Yamaki were just arriving.

"Why?!", Takato called out. "Why are Guilmon and the others devolving?!"

Guilmon had become something small enough for him to hold in his hands. He had no idea as to what Guilmon's In-training form would be called, as he wasn't aware Guilmon even had such a form.

"Devolving?", Henry said more to himself than Takato. "This is...", he started to accuse.

The way Janyu looked away told Henry everything he needed to know.

"Our plan worked", he explained in an uncharacteristically sheepish manner. "The Frontier has stabilized..."

"Then the digimon...", Kazu started to ask.

"They were never meant for this world. If they stay here they will revert to their original forms: a program without substance or awareness. Like the D-reaper".

"That can't be... Guilmon is _meant_ to be with me! I made a _promise_, Guilmon will always, _always_, be with me!"

"I'll never accept that!", Ruki declared. "I just got to know Pteromon! You _can't_ take her away..."

"Ruki, we will get to know us better, it's just not gonna happen as soon as we figured, that's all".

"Renamon, you can fight this, can't you?", Koichi asked. He was holding something the size of a small dog: Viximon.

"Not this time, I'm afraid this is too big for the both of us..."

"Dad! _You knew,_ and yet you...", Henry accused.

"I'm really sorry. I did something unforgivable... It was the only way to protect the world, both worlds, the Material World _and_ the Digital World"

"How...", Koichi began to ask. "The D-reaper and digimon were different! It shouldn't affect them!"

"We fucked up the Red Card algorithm. It terminated prematurely, and left the digimon vulnerable to the devolution program. It's my fault you're losing your partners".

"We _will_ fix this", Yamaki promised. "Whatever it takes".

"Henry", Gummymon, Terriermon's In-training form told him in an even higher pitched voice, "Moumentai!"

"Terriermon", He said as he watched Gummymon heading for the portal. Digital portals were hard enough to see in daylight, and this one had come straight out of the mid-morning sun.

"Renamon, I don't want to be separated from you!", Koichi told her.

"Koichi, I'm sure we'll see each other again", she reassured as his grip was beginning to slip. "Keep the faith, my love". Viximon was also drifting away, pulled into that portal.

"Guilmon", Takato said.

"We'll play again, right?", he said.

"Uh... huh", was all he could say.

They left, one after another, in their respective In-training forms. Except for Marineangemon and Calumon, the smallest of the digimon.

"It's a promise, Takato!", Guilmon called back. "Looking forward to it. Takato".

"Where'd they go!", Suzy called out. "I don't want them to go! Don't leave!" She was sobbing into Henry's pant leg, as he put a hand on her head.

Henry glared at his father with a look of utter contempt.

"Henry", he said, as the tears began to flow. He dropped to his knees, bent over to the ground and wept.

"For sure Guilmon, it's a promise", Takato said to himself, as he watched the portal fade away.

Koichi thought to himself what a shitty day this turned out to be.

"We'll take you home", Yamaki told them.


	37. Afterwards

**34) Afterwards**

After we Tamers had our fifteen minutes, my life returned to what it was before I met Guilmon... well, not exactly. I did retire the goggles for now. We had to repeat the Fifth Grade since we missed so much school, with going to the Digital World to rescue Calumon, and then the fight against the D-reaper. We're back with Ms. Asagi, though I guess she's less than pleased with that.

Kazu and Kenta still tell bad jokes, and cut up in class. They've been doing more of that lately, I guess between the boredom of doing work we've already done, and losing the digimon. They pulled a three day suspension, but I think that was unfair of Headmaster Kurakawa. He doesn't want to seem to be giving us Tamers any preferential treatment; he and Ms. Asagi won't let us forget we're just kids. As if we needed the constant reminders. I still think he could have cut them some slack here. It wasn't easy, losing our partners like that. Not even much time to say goodbye.

The was the biggest adjustment, how to go from hero back to zero? Yeah, I do miss it, the excitement of it all. We all do. Don't play so much Battle Cards these days, it seems just so... lame. I don't think Ruki will bother entering the next tournament either. What's the point?

Fame? That's fleeting, especially these days, and with the public at large glad to put these latest events behind them. They'd just rather forget it ever happened. Can't say I blame them for that. Lives were uprooted by the evacuations, the not knowing if there would be a tomorrow.

Fortune? Mr. Yamaki is doing his best to get us scholarships for University, and a little something extra. However, he's run into intransigent politicians and military who would rather forget that it wasn't the government and military who saved the day. It makes them look bad. 'No good deed ever goes unpunished' - Impmon said that once. I'm beginning to understand just how right he was.

If any fortune comes our way, it's more likely gonna be the makers of Digimon Battle Cards. An endorsement would be a big plus for them, wouldn't it?

As for Shinjuku, it's slowly getting back to normal, but there is still a lot to rebuild. Most of the D-reaper's destruction reversed itself as the D-reaper devolved back to its original state, but there was still a lot of damage those Devas caused. That's not so easy to repair, and it's probably gonna take another couple of years to fully clean up their messes.

Mr. Yamaki has plenty of troubles of his own. Hypnos is being hit with law suits, and there are calls to dismantle the whole system, now that it's no longer a secret. People still fear that Hypnos is spying on all their on-line activities, and are not so trusting of news they receive over the 'Net, as they know Hypnos can alter data. A lot of politicians are agitating for this, as they have the public support. It's not like they don't have a case since Hypnos did bring in the Devas when Shaggai fucked up and opened the way for their materializations. Nor is there any hiding of the threats Zhuqiaomon made all over digital media. This is making it difficult for him to make good on his promise, getting our partners back. Still, he has the Wild Bunch working on it, and their colleagues from around the world. Still hoping they have at least one miracle left in them.

As for the bakery, business has been very good, and Guilmon Bread is our biggest seller. We also have a new mascot and sign board, featuring... Guilmon, who else? Lots of tourist trade we never got before, so Dad's doing very well. Though it's kind of a pain in the ass, the gawkers, I mean. Despite everything, there are still a lot of folks who do notice the absence of the digimon. Dare I say they are missed?

As for proposals for diplomatic recognition of the Digital World, a more orderly and regulated immigration of digimon, who knows when that will happen. Yamaki seems to think it's inevitable, some day. Who knows when "some day" will arrive?

As for the rest of us, Henry seems to be more withdrawn than ever. He's been obsessing over trying to open a digital portal. He also spends a lot of time with that video game. He was always a somewhat obsessed gamer, but not like now. I don't even know if that's possible from our side. As for how he's getting on with his dad over the Wild Bunch's screw up, well, I don't know... I hope he can forgive him. I asked once, but he didn't want to discuss it.

That brings up another question: were we the only ones who had partners? Are there more digimon living among us right now? If they weren't there, didn't get hit with the Red Card Effect, they wouldn't devolve would they? Henry's been asking over the 'Net, but so far, no one's come forward. I don't suppose they would, given the history of Hypnos, Shaggai, and the attempted destruction of all digimon. I don't suppose they'd want to call attention to the presence of 'Wild Ones', and the government hasn't done anything to warrant their trust. If they're out there, that is. I keep a look out for anyone carrying a digivice, and Henry still wears his as a fashion accessory.

As for Juri, at least there's been a reconciliation with her father and step mother. Almost losing her seems to have given her father a new sense of how much he did, indeed, love her. She's seeing a psychologist for possible PTDS, as being held captive in the Kernel Sphere for so long is something she won't overcome so easily. She seems to have mostly gotten over losing Leomon, but there are still those times... It's not costing her family, as Hypnos is picking up the tab. As for how she's doing, she says fine. I know Juri: she always had a tendency to hide her true feelings.

As for Koichi, he dropped by the park a couple of times, but his delayed entry into University has been keeping him busy, and he doesn't have a whole lot in common with us anymore. Same for Ruki, as she's back at her private school. She said she's working on her mother tom let her transfer to our school, but so far, no such luck. They're living in a downtown condo, as their home was heavily damaged. No idea as to when anyone will be available to repair the damage. That's the worst part, that we may be slowly drifting apart. Especially for Koichi and Ruki. At least Henry, Kazu, and Kenta go to the same school. Henry lives close to the park, but it's a bit of a journey for the others, especially Kenta.

As for our partners, they, too, are being kept plenty busy doing their part to rebuild the Digital World. Our digivices still function as communicators, so we can still talk any time we want, but it's just not the same... Over half of the Digital World is gone, and what's left is a mess. Between the back-ups, the Ancient Ones, and the Sovereign, the Digital World should be back in good shape before Shinjuku is.

I still sometimes go home by way of the park. Of course, Guilmon is never there, waiting to see what bread I brought from the bakery. There was that one time... I thought I heard something I hadn't heard since returning from the Digital World - a digignome. I went to have a look, and was surprised as hell to find that digital portal, right there where Guilmon found that one we took the first time. Yeah, I was tempted to jump right in. The only things holding me back was the realization of how selfish that would be, not telling the others first. Then there's the problem of getting back. Leaving the Digital World is a good deal more difficult than entering.

This also gives me reason for some serious concern. Koichi said that he believed the reason the digimon came in the first place was to become an advance force. Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, and Baihumon thought that stopping evolution by concealing the digientelechia would appease the D-reaper. Zhuqiaomon disagreed, and quite vehemently at that. Even though the digignomes gave Azulongmon what he wanted, they also arranged for Calumon to find his way into the Material World. Digimon followed, because here is where they could continue their evolutions, because they did not trust the Sovereign. They kept the reasons for why evolution was no longer occurring from their subjects. They also didn't explain why the Digital World was slowly deteriorating before their eyes. If digimon came to the Material World, partnered with humans who had the digivices that relayed requests for digivolutions to Calumon, then they would form relationships that would give them as big a stake in the Material World as the digimon who stayed behind would have in the Digital World.

Here's the problem: _why_ did that portal appear? Is this a prelude to more problems? Zhuqiaomon made all those threats, sent those Devas to terrorize, and he is, as Henry put it, nuttier than squirrel shit. Is he up to something, now that the D-reaper is no longer a threat? Does he have plans to make good on those threats, now that there is no longer a greater threat that needs attention? Yeah, he seemed to be forgiving, but I well remember that he _never_ offered up any sort of apology for trying to have us killed. Nor did he ever apologize for sending Catsuramon to kill Lopmon and Suzy, which he would have done were it not for Terriermon's quick thinking. He never apologized to Ruki for dark digivolving her into Lilithmon, nor for the deception on Catsuramon's part that led her down that path. He. Never. Apologized. Think about that for a minute. He didn't believe he did anything worthy of an apology. It was expedient for him to let our partners come back with us. It was expedient for him to give up his fight with Azulongmon. He may be crazy, but he's not stupid. Will he drop this unfinished business? It doesn't look like it to me.

We may be back with our partners soon, but I don't think they'll be coming as visitors and tourists. Not this time. Will they ever?


End file.
